My Son's Savior
by Silver Wolf Pups
Summary: Inuyasha and Kouga used to get along like brothers in fact. What made them turn from loving one another to hating each other? Read to find out,rating will go up later. nonyaoi
1. Prelude

_This is a prelude to the story. It holds all the vocabulary that you will see. Everything here is for the story that lies ahead so read carefully. I have written it all down so that you will know exactly what each word means. I found a word generator that allows for English to Japanese and Japanese to English. So enjoy the vocabulary words and my story._

_This whole story came to me in a dream. For some unknown reason I was dreaming about Inuyasha I don't know why but I was so when I woke up I started writing this and I haven't stopped yet..LOL. Well this is just a little bit of what I want to tell you on here. Anything else I use will be put at the beginning of the chapter for I can't wait to put this up. I am already at 15 chapters and still writing it so enjoy._

Vocabulary words

Ningenteki - Human

Ookami - Wolf

Inu - Dog

Hanyou - Half demon

Youkai - Demon

Hebi - Snake

Kyodai - Brother

Oniisan - Older demon brother

Ani - Older human brother

Ototo - Younger brother

Shimai - Sister

Ane - Older human sister

Onesan - Older demon sister

Imoto - Younger sister

Neko - Cat

Oi - Nephew

Ideyu - Hot springs

Kumo - Bear

Kitsune - Fox

Watashi - Eagle

Uma - Horse

Ryu - Dragon

Oji-san - Uncle

Taiyo - Sun


	2. Chapter 1: My son's savior

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company they are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do however own the plot and the other characters there in._

_A/n: I say if I were in the feudal era then I would love to be the mom of a half demon they are always so cute. Well anyway on with the story._

"_Talking"; 'Thinking' ; (me)_

_Chapter One: My Son's Savior _

The Sky was dark with malice as the young female wolf ran. In her arms was a small wolf pup just barely a day old. The pup was crying and whimpering. She couldn't stop to feed him although she wanted to. The young female wolf was trying to save her son from the attacking humans and needed to put as much distance as she could from them. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Just then she felt the searing pain in her back. She knew from the pain that it was from the shaft of an arrow. She knew that she was within firing range of the arrows but she could easily out run them with no problem.

The female wolf got far ahead of the ones following her. She was still running when she smelt another scent. It was a female ningenteki and a human child. She had run right into the clearing the female human was standing in. She skidded to a stop and looked at the human. She was holding a small baby as well. The human's child was wrapped in a small pink colored blanket, while her own child was wrapped in whatever she could find. Which happened to be some dirty rags she got from the human village that her and her mate passed while traveling with their pack. The human woman looked at the ookami that was infront of her. She held her own child close to her chest while she waited to see what the ookami did next. The child the human female had in her arms started to cry and the human actually ignored it like she didn't know what was wrong with it.

The ookami said, "Your child is hungry human. You should feed it."

The human said, "I know that but I can't feed him as of yet. He was early and my milk is late. So I have nothing to feed him."

The ookami said, "I would help you but I have a small problem that needs to be taken care of. So I am sorry to have to run and leave you here alone but I have to run."

The ookami started to run away from the human when she stopped dead in her tracks. She knew the ones after her weren't that far from where she and the human female stood. She knew that they were all going to be killed if she didn't do something.

The human said, "Who are after you my friend?"

The ookami looked at the human and said, "How long till your milk comes in?"

The human said, "It will most possible come in tomorrow why?"

The ookami said, "My pack and I got separated. I don't know where they are and my mate was killed a while ago. I am being chased by a group of human men. They plan on killing me and my son. If they come this close they will both be killed as will us."

The human woman said, "My name is Izayoi. I am known as princess Izayoi to most people. I am the second wife of the Lord Inutaisho. The Legendary Dog Demon himself. This is our son Inuyasha he is the second son of Lord InuTaisho. You are safe here with me. No one would dare to attack you with me around. Not with the incurring wrath of my husband."

The ookami said, "I am Rika. My mate's name is Riku this is our son Kouga. We are the last tribe of wolves to come from Maki. We are not safe anywhere because your husband is dead everyone knows that and his son Sesshoumaru isn't going to protect us."

She looked behind him and checked how far behind her the human group. She saw that they were still pretty far behind her. She took her child and she seated herself on the ground while she faced Izayoi. She decided to give into her maternal instincts and feed her son. She need to give him his first meal now before she handed him over. She was going to protect both of these children from the group knowing that the child in front of her was a half demon she could see that now. Once her son was fed he went to sleep.

Rika looked up and said, "Izayoi give me Inuyasha. I will feed him then I need you to do a favor for me. If you will?"

Izayoi said, "Of course I will do a favor for you Rika. And thank you for giving my son his first meal since I can not."

Rika looked at her and said, "When was your son born Izayoi?"

Izayoi said, "My son was born just as the sun went down today. Why?"

Rika said, "My son was born the same time Inuyasha was. They are twins in their own right but have two different mothers. They are destined to be great. They will do better together than alone."

Izayoi handed Inuyasha over to Rika who in turn fed him and handed him back to her. She stood up from where she was and looked back to where she came she could smell the humans getting closer to them and she knew that if she didn't do it now she would be able to do it ever.

Rika looked Izayoi in the eye and said, "Izayoi will you care for my son as if he were your own."

Izayoi said, "Rika why not come with me? We can get away I have a place that is safe from harm. Somewhere they can't get to us."

Rika said, "Izayoi please. I wouldn't ask this of you if there was another way. Our boys are twins. They are meant to be together it is in the stars. They will do great things together you will see. But I can not care for him. My pack will not take us back without my mate. He is the reason I am even with them. I am from another pack and since I was mated to this pack I can not go back therefor my son will grow up alone in this world. Please Izayoi take my son and teach him what you can. When he is old enough tell him what his parents did for him and your son."

With that Rika put Kouga into Izayoi's arms and then ran from where they were back toward the humans then she led them away from the children and her child's savior. Izayoi stood transfixed on the spot with an ookami child and her own inu hanyou. She had just seen the bravest person she knew besides her own husband. She knew that the ookami female named Rika would never see her son again because she had seen the humans run past them and toward her. Rika had led the humans away from the three of them. Izayoi looked down at the sleeping ookami she held in her arm and felt a small twinge in her heart.

Izayoi whispered to the small ookami, "I guess you're an orphan now Kouga. I will take care of you though like your momma asked me to do. You are always welcome with my son and me."

With that Izayoi walked back to where she called home. It was a small cave in the rock face not far from where she stood. She walked inside and placed the two sleeping boys in their bed together. The cradle she had made was big enough for both boys to sleep if they cuddled up. Kouga seemed very content to have Inuyasha nestled against his chest. So Izayoi turned and left the cave she put sutra's up so no demon could enter and kill her children. Then she walked out and went looking for her new found friend.


	3. Chapter 2 A New Friendship is Made

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company they are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do however own the plot and the other characters there in._

_A/n: I say if I were in the feudal era then I would love to be the mom of a half demon they are always so cute. Well anyway on with the story._

"_Talking"; 'Thinking' ; (me)_

_Chapter Two: A New Friendship is Made._

Izayoi took Rika to a secluded spot where there was a waterfall. She then went and looked for Rika's mate Riku so that they might be together in the after life as well. After bringing Riku's body to the secluded spot she went back to her home and grabbed two white sheets and her sewing stuff. After she came back she put them in the sheet and she sewed them. On both the sheets she sewed their names so they would not forget them in the afterlife. Then she dug a hole and buried them in it. She knew that ookami's were put on a pyre like the humans but she couldn't risk alerting the ones who did this to anyone being in the forest. So she had no choice but to burry them. She just hoped that their spirits found a way home to the stars.

Once she was done with that she placed to large stones above them and she now had to find a demon who would help her in this endeavor. She spotted a dragon youkai walking through the forest. She knew that the dragon's stayed mostly in the north and that in order for him to be here then her step son was having a meeting of all the Great Lords of the lands. She waited till he was in hearing distance of himself.

Izayoi said, "Hello gentle dragon."

The dragon youkai thought the woman was mad but decided to find out why she was in this forest alone. She was in a secluded spot away from prying eyes and he wanted to know what possessed such a beautiful woman such as her into a forest teaming with demons. He came into the clearing and saw that she had blood on her he thought that she had been hurt already and was just trying to get some help. But on closer inspection of the scent of the blood he found it to be ookami blood. Now that intrigued him a little. Why would a human have ookami blood on her? He did not have an answer to that question and it plagued him.

He said, "Hello fair lady. My I be so bold as to ask why such a beautiful lady such as yourself would be doing in this forest alone when there are demon's about? And may I also ask why are you covered in ookami blood?"

She smiled he was very polite she said, "You may be so bold and ask your questions. I am in this forest because I live here in it. This is my home and demons do not scare me nor do they wish to harm me. As for your second question gentle dragon. I am covered in ookami blood because I have just buried two ookami's. A male and female. The female was nice to me so I repaid the favor by burring the two of them after some local villagers killed them."

He said, "Most humans will not go so far as to give a demon a chance when it comes to talking to them. So may I ask why you were so nice as to allow her to talk with you? You are not afraid of demons I can see this but how did you know I would not hurt you when you called to me?"

She said, "I gave her a chance and you a chance gentle dragon because it is in my nature to give everyone a chance. I don't judge people by their race I judge them by their heart. If you have a kind heart then I will help you whether you be demon, human, or half demon I will help. But should your heart be dark and evil I will not. Unless I can see the reason for it. Half demons are not always evil and mean they can be nice once shown what kindness is. I have learned from years of experience that once shown kindness anyone can be kind. Even a demon who has slaughter millions of people can be kind once shown an ounce of kindness in return. I knew you would not hurt me because you have a gentle soul and a kind heart. Your aura is as pure as any demon I have met. So I knew you were safe for me to talk to."

The dragon thought through her logic. It sounded reasonable enough but it didn't make sense how she could see his aura. He also wondered how many demons she had really met. He knew that what she said was true because he had seen the cruelest of demons change into the nicest of demons with just a little bit of kindness shown to them. He looked at this beautiful human and saw that she was wearing a kimono fit for the lady of any demon lord or human lord. Her hair was pulled up high on her head and was a black as coal. Her eyes were as soft and gentle as any flower and they were as brown as a young buck. She was the first human that had called him a gentle dragon in a long time. The last person to call him a gentle dragon had been his own mate and the mid wife who delivered his child.

The dragon said, "What is your name kind human?"

She said, "I am Izayoi."

The dragon had heard that name before. The Izayoi he knew was supposed to be a world renowned healer, priestess, and midwife to demons, humans, and half demons. That made sense actually since she used a persons heart as a guide to who she would help and who she wouldn't.

He said, "It is a pleasure to meet you Lady Izayoi I am Lord Ronin. I am the Lord of the Northern lands. I am here on business with the new Western Lord."

She smiled and said, "I is a great pleasure to meet you Lord Ronin. I have heard a lot about you from Lord Inutaisho. You two were great friends and I know he would be grateful if that friendship was extended to his eldest son Sesshoumaru."

Lord Ronin said, "You knew Lord Inutaisho?"

Izayoi said, "I am sorry I did not properly introduce myself earlier. I am Lady Izayoi second wife to Lord Inutaisho step mother to Lord Sesshoumaru and mother to Lord Inutaisho's second son Inuyasha."

Lord Ronin said, "I thought that name was familiar. I have heard of you on many of an occasion from my friend. You are also a world renowned healer, priestess, and midwife to demons, humans, and half demons. It is a pleasure to meet such a wonderful human such as your self."

Izayoi said, "Lord Ronin would it be bold of me as to ask a favor from you."

Lord Ronin said, "No it is not bold to ask a favor from me. What is your favor M'Lady?"

Izayoi said, "Would you be so kind as to shape these grave markers into their goddesses symbol so that their souls can go up to the stars since I can not send them there the way they are supposed to?"

Lord Ronin said, "I would be honored to do that."

Lord Ronin walked over to the grave markers and carved them with his claws into a crescent moon with a star. Both had the same symbol on them with a base where he would put their names so that their Goddess Nina would be able to tell who they were.

He said, "What were their names?"

Izayoi said, "The one toward the waterfall was named Rika and the other is her mate Riku."

Lord Ronin put the names on the base of the grave markers. Then he stood and stepped back and inspected his work. He had done it right and it looked really good compared to the normal grave markers actually. He was very pleased with himself. He knew that there was nothing in this world that could compare with what he had just done for these two unfortunate ookami's.

Izayoi said, "Thank you Lord Ronin. Now Nina can find them and take them up with their ancestors in the stars."

Lord Ronin said, "You know a lot about demon cultures don't you Lady Izayoi?"

Izayoi said, "Yeah I do. While I am healing a demon I listen to their stories and I learn from them. See I don't just worship what I was taught I worship a lot of demon deities as well. Like Nina for one because I used to go to the shrine with Lord Inutaisho. I find if I listen to what I am being told then it helps me connect to the one's I am helping."

Lord Ronin was impressed with how much she knew. He knew that it was hard for anyone to listen to the long stories that are passed down to their children. Even the children get bored with listening to what they are told.

He said, "Do you plan on passing your knowledge to your son or will you wait until you have a daughter?"

Izayoi said, "I follow the wolf code of mating Lord Ronin. I will not take another mate. I will live out my life with my two sons till I can be reunited with my mate Lord Inutaisho. I will pass on my knowledge to them and they will learn from it."

Lord Ronin was confused by something he said, "What did you mean by two sons?"

Izayoi said, "Rika gave me her son before she ran from us. She gave her life to protect her son, Inuyasha, and I. So I am caring for her child as well as my own."

Lord Ronin said, "That is very nice of you to do Lady Izayoi."

Izayoi said, "Would you like to meet your old friend's son Lord Ronin?"

Lord Ronin said, "I would be honored to see him."

_A/n: Please review. There have been 36 hits on this story and not a single review. So please review as least once. I am not updating the next chapter till I have at least 1 to 5 reviews. Thank you._


	4. Chapter 3 Maternal Insticts come first

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company they are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do however own the plot and the other characters there in._

_A/n: I say if I were in the feudal era then I would love to be the mom of a half demon they are always so cute. Well anyway on with the story._

"_Talking"; 'Thinking' ; (me)_

_Chapter Three: Maternal Instincts Come First._

Izayoi led Lord Ronin back to where she had the children safely secured. But as they came up on the cave they saw a bear youkai trying to get into the cave only to be thrown back by the barrier. It wasn't happy with its efforts. Lord Ronin went to go over when Izayoi stopped him. She walked over to the bear demon and stopped just a little bit away. She could hear Inuyasha fussing in there. She could also see that the bear demon was a female one.

(_Yeah I know could never happen right well in this fan fiction it does so haha._)

Izayoi said in perfect bear language, "Hold up friend. You will only hurt yourself if you continue to hit that barrier like that. Why do you want inside with my children friend?"

The bear looked at this human who had been talking to her in her own language with a curious look but decided to answer her question since she was being nice.

The Bear said in bear youkai, "The child is crying because it is hungry. It has been crying for a while now. My cubs are fed and asleep so I came to investigate the crying. If they are your children I will not bother them then. I have seen many humans and demons leave their children to starve in this forest."

Izayoi said in bear youkai, "You are a very caring and gentle bear. You can go in if you want and check them out just let me take the barrier down first."

Lord Ronin was watching Izayoi as she talked to the bear demon then watched as she walked into the cave and took down the barrier that protected her children. To his surprise the bear went in and Izayoi wasn't even fazed by it. He went over to her and looked at Izayoi with an odd look.

He said, "Why was she trying to get into here anyway?"

Izayoi said, "She was trying to get into here because Inuyasha was crying. Maternal instincts kick in once you have children and you hear on crying far off and it doesn't stop. I was too far to hear him crying. I told her she could come in and check for herself that they were alright. She says a lot of demons and humans abandoned their children in this forest to starve."

They went into the cave a little further. They saw that the mother bear had both the pups out of their bed and had them in front of her. Both were eating healthy and strong. The female bear youkai looked at who had come in with the human and let out a warning growl to him. Ronin was surprised to find that the mother bear had already taken a defensive stance when it came to the pups.

Lord Ronin said, "You have nothing to fear from me young bear. I will not harm you in the least. I was invited here by Lady Izayoi."

The female bear looked at the human and said, "Is this true young human? Did you invite this dragon here?"

Izayoi said, "It is true I invited him here he is a good friend of my mate. He will do you no harm or my children any harm."

The bear had quit growling but was still apprehensive about the dragon demon. Something didn't add up here anyway. She could smell the human on both of the pups but could not understand why she would take a wolf pup as her own when she had a perfectly healthy son that was a dog demon. She would have to stay and investigate this matter more throughly. But as for now both pups were fed and would sleep some more before they would need it again. She picked up the wolf pup and put him back into the crib and then the inu hanyou she picked up and gave to his mother.

The Bear said, "Your son isn't tired yet. The other has fallen asleep. They are going to have to be fed in an hour again. Young pups I have come to find out eat a lot more when they are young then when they get older. They are but seven hours old so they will eat about once every hour. Since you smell as if you have not come into your milk as of yet I will return in an hour and feed them again."

Izayoi followed her to the entrance and she configured the barrier to the she bear's aura. So that even with the barrier up it would allow her into the den but no one else. The she bear had left and went back to her own cubs who would need to be fed soon as well. Lady Izayoi walked back to the main part of the cave where Lord Ronin was waiting with Kouga. She held Inuyasha in her arms as she walked toward them. She felt uneasy about something but hadn't been able to find what it was that caused her distress. So she wrote it off as nonsense.

Ronin saw Izayoi come in with his friend's child and said, "How will the she bear come in if you have a barrier up on the entrance?"

Izayoi said, "I have configured it to let her inside when the barrier is up. That way even when I am not here they are taken care of. But I will always be here though so there is nothing to worry about. So would you like to see my Inuyasha?"

_A/n: I want to thank Demonic Tamai and InuGoddess715 for their reviews. I will update as soon as I can._


	5. Meeting an Old Friend and A New Bond

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company they are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do however own the plot and the other characters there in._

_A/n: I say if I were in the feudal era then I would love to be the mom of a half demon they are always so cute. Well anyway on with the story._

"_Talking"; 'Thinking' ; (me)_

_Chapter Four: The Meeting of an Old Friend and a New Bond Made._

Lord Ronin said, "I would be delighted to see my old friend's child."

Izayoi walked over to Lord Ronin and handed Inuyasha to him. He took him in his scaly arms and held him close to his chest. He looked at this young boys face and saw his old friend in it. Kouga started to cry so Izayoi went over to him and picked him up. She knew what was wrong he didn't smell his mother anywhere and he was scared. She had nothing of fur in the small shelter so she would have to ask around for some.

Lord Ronin knew why this child cried he said, "He misses the warmth of the fur the she bear had. It is the only thing his small mind can grasp is that his mother had fur and so did the one who had him a minute ago. You are human he knows the difference in heart beats as well."

Izayoi said, "He seems just fine with my son so lets see if that will stop his fussing."

Izayoi handed Kouga to Lord Ronin who took him in his other arm. The minute that Kouga's small foot hit Inuyasha's small foot he quit crying. In fact he seemed more at peace then he had when he was asleep. This intrigued Ronin because Wolves and Dogs didn't get along at all and it seemed that these two were inseparable even at a small age.

Lord Ronin said, "When were these two born Lady Izayoi?"

She said, "Rika said they were twins because they were born at sundown. They are twins in their own right but with different mothers is what she said."

Ronin said, "That is why the young wolf was crying. He missed Inuyasha they are inseparable even now. They are like real twins they are. They have come to know and memorize each other's scent and heart beat. They will forever be together unless one should die even then they will not be apart from one another. They will always know where the other one is and they will always know when one is hurt or sick. They even know when the other is sick before the other knows. So yes they are twins in their own right and they have made a special bond which can never be broken."

Izayoi said, "So they may be the future to the both races finally getting alone?"

Ronin said, "They are the future for both races to get alone. Without them there is no hope for the Ookamis' and Inus' to ever get along. These two children are the future to their races. They will build their pack around each other therefore allowing the two to merge together. Without them the two races would destroy each other before the end of the century."

Izayoi thought about this for a moment and knew what he was saying was true. What if they never got to do what they were destined to become? Izayoi would never let that happen she vowed on every God and Goddess she knew that she would not allow them to fail in their destinies.

Izayoi said, "How long will you be staying with Lord Sesshoumaru?"

Ronin said, "Until the council has convened on whether or not to allow Sesshoumaru on the throne so young. That is what this whole meeting is about really is to see if Sesshoumaru can be allowed to be Lord at such a young age or if we will have to appoint someone to take his place until he is old enough."

Izayoi said, "Sesshoumaru is old enough to become Lord. He is as old as Lord Inutaisho was when he took the throne. Sesshoumaru is 300 years old. There is nothing to worry about. He may be young by demon standards but he is ready to be Lord. Trust me he is ready he has been fighting Inutaisho to step down from his throne for sometime now so he can take it. So he is ready to have it. I say let him have it if he wants it so bad. Let him see how hard his father had to work to keep this land running and then check back on him and see if he still wanted to be Lord so early. He wanted to be Lord when he was 100 years old from what I was told. It really isn't that bad actually Inutaisho loved being Lord and he was great at it."

(_Got the ages from a website so don't sue me or send flames)_

Ronin said, "You know its not a bad idea to let him see how hard it is then check back with him later and see if he still wants the throne or if he wants to wait a while for it."

Ronin headed back to the western castle after visiting with his old friend's child. He still couldn't believe that his friend's son had befriended a wolf pup who was the same exact age he was. Ronin stopped on a hill over looking everything for a hundred miles in every direction. He looked up toward the stars and saw the one thing that made him happy. He saw a group of new stars and knew that was his old friend.

Ronin said to the night, "Well Inutaisho your youngest son is a wonder. He already has his work cut out for him and he's not even a day old yet. He has a new friend as well more like his twin brother actually. The little wolf pup Kouga acts like your son Inuyasha's twin even now when they are not twins they act like it. Watch over them Inutaisho and your eldest son who will soon be taking your throne. He will need guidance from you as well as your help in things. He will always consult you as you did your father. So watch over your children my friend and I will see you again when it is my time to join the stars with you."

_A/n: Thank you for all the reviews. I can't wait to hear from some more of you._


	6. Chapter 5 First Hunt and a Good Deed

1_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company they are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do however own the plot and the other characters there in._

_A/n: Well thank you for all your reviews. I really appreciate the positive feed back. So thanks. Any way I figured I would get into the main part of the story instead of sticking to the finer details. So here is the story._

"_Talking"; 'Thinking' ; (me)_

_Chapter Five: First Hunt and a Good Deed._

It had been a two years now since Kouga and Inuyasha were born. Izayoi was finding it hard to keep track of them while they were running around through the woods playing with each other. They were inseparable like Lord Ronin had said. Inuyasha had come back inside after finding something pretty for his mom. He ran inside the cave and right into his mother's leg.

Izayoi looked down and said, "Well hello Inuyasha. What can I do for you? I thought you were out playing with your brother Kouga."

Inuyasha looked up at his mom and said, "I was out playing momma. I found something for you."

Izayoi knelt down and said, "What did you find for me sweety?"

Inuyasha handed her the pretty present. He had found it while playing. It was really pretty because it changed colors in the light. Izayoi knew what this was and knew that this was not something to be playing with.

Izayoi said, "Where did you get this Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha said, "Are you mad mommy?"

Izayoi said, "I am not mad at you Inuyasha but I have to know where you got this from. How close were you to here?"

Inuyasha said, "I didn't find it anywhere near here. I was near the village when I found that I ran all the way back here to give it to you momma. Why do you not like it?"

Izayoi said, "No sweety I love it but this is a Hebi scale. So you know what that is Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha said, "No momma I don't know what a Hebi is?"

Izayoi said, "A Hebi is a snake sweety. This is a snake scale. Its actually a Hebi youkai scale. That means that there is or was a snake demon near the village. How old do you think this scale is?"

Inuyasha sniffed it and said, "It smells like its fresh it doesn't smell bad like the other one you showed us."

Izayoi said, "Where is your brother Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha said, "Kyodai is playing in the forest momma. Why are you worried the Hebi will get him?"

Izayoi said, "Come on sweet heart I need to call your brother and warn the village of the snake demon."

She picked Inuyasha up in her arms and walked out of the cave entrance. She walked to the village and stopped in her tracks she could see the snake demon's tracks and they were after small foot prints in the dirt. She placed Inuyasha down on the ground and inspected the foot prints.

Izayoi said, "Inuyasha are these your foot prints or your brother's?"

Inuyasha sniffed them and said, "Kyodai's foot prints mommy. But he is tracking the snake not the snake tracking him."

Izayoi knew that she said, "Can you go after your brother and then meet me in the village where you will be safe for the time being while we go and kill the demon?"

Inuyasha said, "Ok mommy I will go and get Kyodai and then you can kill the demon."

Inuyasha tracked his brother through the forest until he spotted him just as he was about to jump on the snake demon. Inuyasha remembered what their mother said never sneak up on another creature they can hurt you. He ran toward Kouga and grabbed him just as he went to spring. Kouga never left the ground and the snake never heard them. Kouga rounded on Inuyasha and almost hit him with his claws before he realized who it was.

Kouga said, "Why did you stop me Kyodai I almost had it?"

Inuyasha said, "Momma said I was to find you then we were to go to the village and wait for mommy to come and get us Kyodai. Mommy told us never to sneak up on another creature because it could hurt us remember Kyodai."

Kouga said, "I just wanted to surprise mommy with it that is all."

Inuyasha got a good idea he said, "What if we both surprise mommy with it? We can both track it and hunt it at the same time. That way we are bond to win. Its two against one it can't be that hard to kill."

Kouga and Inuyasha hunted the demon down and found it near a river bend. The two brother's crept up on the demon and found it to be completely blind. It didn't even notice them come up next to it. They didn't feel like killing it if it wasn't a fair fight that they could brag about.

Kouga said, "Are you lost?"

The snake said, "Who are you and why are you this close to me? Do you not know I could kill you in an instant young pup?"

Kouga said, "I am Kouga and this is my Kyodai Inuyasha we are close to you because we were going to kill you and bring you back to our mommy but since you can not see us we will not do that. We do know you could kill us that is why we are being careful. But are you lost?"

The Snake said, "I have lost my way yes. But do not worry about me young pups. You should get back to your mother before she gets worried."

The snake demon made his way along the ground feeling and smelling trying to find any trial that would allow him to make his way out of this valley and into the foot hills where the rest of his clan was. Kouga went over to Inuyasha and whispered something. Inuyasha nodded his head. He agreed with Kouga it was not right to leave this demon alone when he could not see to defend himself. They would help him find his way to where he was going. Even their mother would be proud of them for that. So they ran after the demon to try and catch up with him.

Kouga said, "Sir we will help you find your way to where you are going. We do not feel right leaving you alone when you can clearly not defend yourself from an attack. You are an old snake we can tell. Our momma would be mad if we let you get hurt because we did not help you. Our momma always helps those who can not help themselves so we will help you."

The snake said, "That is nice young ones but I am truly alright your momma sounds like a nice person but you really need to go back before she gets worried about you."

Inuyasha said, "Our momma always says we are to help those who are less fortunate than us. We can see and you can not therefore you are less fortunate then ourselves. My Kyodai is right our mother would be very angry with us if we do not help you. That and she has always said we are to respect our elders and help them whenever possible you are an elder to us and you need help and it is possible for us to help you. So we will and no amount of asking us to leave will work."

The snake could see that the pups were determined to help him so he would allow it since they could see and he couldn't. They were right without his sight he couldn't see any danger and therefore would end up getting hurt or worse killed. So decided to accept their help then reward them when they were done.

The snake said, "I will accept your help young ones. Thank you my name is Nanni I am the leader of the Snake clan. My clan is in the foot hills in the eastern mountains. There is a wolf pack not far from there and Panthers too. So if you still want to help me we should be going before the sun sets."(_I Know a little foreshadowing there. Hint, hint, on where Kouga will be._)

With that Nanni, Kouga, and Inuyasha went on their way to the Eastern Mountain foothills. Mean while back in the village Izayoi was waiting for her sons to come back. When they didn't she sent some men to follow the tracks to see where they went. To her surprise the villagers were actually as worried about Inuyasha and Kouga as she was. They knew the boys were too nice for their own good as well as too curious. They got into all kinds of messes with their curiosity as it was. Their being too nice was her fault she taught them at an early age that if a person has a good heart to help them no matter what. Well they adopted that theory as their own. Now anyone with a good heart was helped by Kouga and Inuyasha.

The men came back and told her that they lost the trail because it was too dark to see but from what they could see the boys were traveling with the snake for some reason. Izayoi knew why too. The snake demon was probably luring them to their deaths because of her. She went back to her cave and cried. She knew she would probably never see her children again. The men had said they would go back out at first light and pick up the trail again from the river. Izayoi cried herself to sleep that night while holding her sons' blanket close to her chest. She knew that she had lost her children forever because Snakes didn't just eat the flesh of their prey they ate everything and left nothing behind.


	7. The Foothills of the Eastern Mountains

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company they are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do however own the plot and the other characters there in._

_A/n: Well thank you for all your reviews. I really appreciate the positive feed back. So thanks. Any way I figured I would get into the main part of the story instead of sticking to the finer details. So here is the story._

"_Talking"; 'Thinking' ; (me)_

_Chapter Six: The Foothills of the Eastern Mountains. _

Kouga, Inuyasha, and Nanni made it to the foothills of the eastern mountains within three days. They now made their way through the foothills to where Nanni said his clan was. It was midday when they finally found the snake clan. It wasn't anything like they were used to seeing. It was a huge valley with a bunch of mounds to use as homes. The two brothers followed Nanni up the path between the homes to where his own home was. He knew the way there by heart after he found his way here.

A female snake demon made her way to them and threw her arms around him. She was so happy to see him again. She was smiling and laughing as well as crying.

She said, "Oh grandfather why did you wonder off like that? You know you can get lost easily without your sight."

Nanni said, "Do not mind me child. I am fine I had help finding my way back. These two nice pups helped me find my way back home."

She looked and saw a half demon and a wolf pup standing behind her grandfather. She went around him and lowered herself so she was almost eye level with Inuyasha and Kouga. She smiled and patted them on the head.

She said, "Thank you young pups for helping my grandfather find his way home. You two must be tired and hungry why don't you come in and rest before you head home?"

Kouga looked at Inuyasha and saw that Inuyasha was tired. He was too so he figured since he was hungry so was Inuyasha. They were going to have to rest before heading home anyway. So he figured why not stay here since she was offering it to them.

Kouga said, "Thank you ma'am that is very kind of you. My Kyodai and I are very tired and hungry thank you."

She smiled and bade them to follow her into the house. There they were given a room to rest in and some food to eat. They were really hungry they had not hunted the whole trip because then they would leave Nanni alone and they didn't want that. They had also not rested either because they were afraid of something happening to them or Nanni while they slept so they stayed awake the whole time. So now they slept on a pallet in a snake's home and ate what snakes ate. It was a weird taste but their hungry bellies never complained. So they ate and slept there for a while. When they were fully rested it was night fall when they decided to set out. Nanni had come back from visiting the elder of the snake clan and had a gift for them.

Nanni said, "Why don't you two stay and head out in the morning? It can be dangerous here at night."

Inuyasha said, "Thank you Nanni but we do not want to impose on your fine hospitality any longer. We shall be heading home tonight. We can find it better at night anyway. There are very few humans out at night so we would prefer to travel at night to avoid a hassle with them. See they do not like me very much and I do not want to run into them at the moment."

Nanni said, "Why do they not like you young pup you are a nice, kind, and gentle person? How could anyone not like you?"

Inuyasha smiled it had been a while since anyone had complimented him on anything he did other than his mother and brother. It felt good to have someone else compliment him for something he had done by someone who he had helped. But he knew that the praise would go away once he told him what he was. Kouga saw the smile disappear from his brother's face and knew that he was going to tell Nanni what he was and Inuyasha was getting ready for the name calling.

Inuyasha said, "Even if I am a nice, kind, and gentle person as you called me Nanni people still don't like me because I am a half breed."

Kouga said, "Don't say that word Inuyasha. You are a half demon nothing more and nothing less not a half breed."

Nanni said, "What does being a half demon, or a demon, or a human have to do with your heart Inuyasha? Your heart is all that counts as long as you still do what you did for me people will eventually warm up to you and if they don't then ignore what they say. Those that put you down are nothing more than idiots because they have no right at all to put down such a sweet child as you."

Inuyasha smiled even larger and hugged Nanni around the waist where he knew the spikes weren't. He was happy someone had said that to him. Kouga smiled too and joined his brother in hugging the old snake demon. They had been with Nanni for three days and he had already made Inuyasha smile twice. That to Kouga was a plus and a good thing.

The two brothers had made their way out of the village where they were seen off by the whole village. The elder of the clan came over to them and gave them each a necklace. On the necklace was the symbol for their God Yasashiku which was a weird eye(_Egyptian eye people_).

The Elder said, "That is the symbol for our God Yasashiku. Wear it at all times and he will keep you two safe. You will always be welcome here in this village no matter what. Take this letter with you. That way your mother knows that you were well taken care of and that what you are saying was true."

Kouga took the letter from the snake elder and said, "Thank you Elder for these necklaces and the invitation. We will come visit sometime. We might even bring our mother with us next time so she can meet you."

They made their way back to their home and their mother. They lived in the Western Lands where their older brother ruled the land. They were going to be gone another three days because it took them three days to get to the village so if they traveled nonstop for three days they would get home at sunrise instead of midday like they had this time. So they waved good bye to their new friends and they made there way back to the western lands. They were sure their mother would be proud to see them and to know what they had done to help Nanni.


	8. A Surprise Waiting at Home for Izayoi

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company they are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do however own the plot and the other characters there in._

_A/n: Well thank you for all your reviews. I really appreciate the positive feed back. So thanks. Any way I figured I would get into the main part of the story instead of sticking to the finer details. So here is the story._

"_Talking"; 'Thinking' ; (me)_

_Chapter Seven: The Surprise Waiting at Home for Izayoi._

Izayoi had made her usual rounds around the village and was making her way home when she smelled smoke coming from where her home was. She ran there and went inside through the barrier. She made her way to where the fire pit was to see what was going on. She had remembered putting the fire out that morning before leaving. But to her surprise it was lit and there was a pot of stew boiling. She went over to it and smelled it and found that the stew was almost done and it was rabbit stew.

Kouga and Inuyasha came into the den and found their mother standing in front of the stew pot trying to figure out who had made it. They decided to sneak up on her and scare her. They put down everything they had with them and got right behind her. Both with huge smiles on their faces and suppressing a laugh.

Both Kouga and Inuyasha said, "Hi Momma."

Izayoi jumped and screamed when she heard the voices behind her. Out of reaction she swung her bow at them only to stop just before hitting Inuyasha right in the head with it. She dropped it to the ground and dropped to her knees. She wrapped her arms around both her sons and cried.

Kouga said, "Momma its alright. We are home now. Come on momma don't cry."

Inuyasha said, "We are sorry momma for scaring you like that. Please don't cry anymore."

Izayoi said, "I thought you two were dead. Where were you two all this time? You had me so worried. I thought I would never see you two again. Don't you ever do that to me again."

Kouga said, "We are really sorry momma. We were helping Nanni back home. He couldn't see and was having trouble getting back home. He lived in the foothills in the Eastern Mountains. We are sorry momma."

Both looked at each other and said, "I promise momma I won't run off like that again."

Izayoi said, "Who is Nanni?"

Kouga said, "Nanni was the Hebi that was around here."

Izayoi said, "Why would you help a Hebi didn't I tell you they could kill you?"

Inuyasha said, "Momma we tracked him to the river and we were going to kill him for you to show you we could help too but when we got close enough to him we realized he couldn't see us. So we decided to help him. He said he was trying to get home and that he would make it there on his own but we knew that you always said to help an elder if we came across one well he was an elder to us so we helped him. We helped him get home and it took us three days to get there and it was midday the third day before we got to the village he lives in. So we stayed and rested then at night fall we came back home. We just got home after you left so we decided to get dinner started. We are sorry mommy we just wanted to make you proud of us that is all."

Izayoi saw Kouga had his tail between his legs and Inuyasha had his ears flat to his head. Both knew they were in trouble and they were sad. She knew that they were only trying to help. And she was proud of them for doing the right thing. She smiled at them and scratched their heads. They both looked up at their mother who was smiling at them.

She said, "I am so proud of you two for helping him but next time you go to help someone then one of you come back and tell me then you two can go alright."

Kouga said, "Ok mommy. Oh look what we got for helping them."

Both Kouga and Inuyasha held up their necklaces that the elder had given them. Their mother inspected them and looked at her sons in awe. She knew what those necklaces meant. Her sons had been accepted as one of the Hebi clan.

She said, "Do you know what those are?"

Inuyasha said, "They are the symbol for their God Yasashiku."

Izayoi said, "Do you know what they mean?"

Kouga said, "The Elder said that as long as we wear them we are safe. But no momma beyond that we don't know what they mean."

Izayoi said, "You are part of the Hebi clan. They made you members of their clan boys. As long as you two wear that no Hebi will harm you."

Kouga said, "That is cool. Are you mad at us mommy for running off like we did?"

Izayoi said, "No sweety I am not made at you. I am proud of the both of you for doing what you did."

Inuyasha said, "Kouga give mommy the letter the Elder gave to us."

Kouga took out the letter that was given to them and handed it to their mother. She took it and broke the Hebi seal which was the same symbol around her sons' necks. She read the letter to herself. This is what the letter said;

_Dear Mother of Kouga and Inuyasha,_

_This letter is to tell you that your sons were well taken care of in my village. They are welcome here anytime. You have done well to raise these boys to help anyone who cannot help themselves. You should be proud most pups their age would have run from Nanni. He is the nicest of our kind but he is also the most battle hardened one so his appearance is something other than normal but he says they walked right up to him and showed him nothing but the utmost respect the whole way here. They even showed the rest of our little village with the utmost respect._

_I couldn't help but notice they call each other Kyodai even though they are not. In fact they are far from being brothers because Kouga is a wolf pup and Inuyasha is an inu hanyou. I thought you should know there is a wolf pack not far from here so if you decided to send him to one there is one here that I am sure will take him in as their own. He might learn more from being with his own kind then with a human and a hanyou. Yeah I know you are human because they both carry your scent. I know they do not realize is but Kouga would actually benefit from being with his own kind instead of another especially since their races are always fighting with each other. I am sure that you could send him to them for training then have him sent home to you that way he knows what he is supposed to so when it comes time for him to be in the real world he will know what to do when encountered with another wolf demon. I am not trying to undermined anything you have taught him or your son. I am only saying they he may benefit from his own kind more. You have done a wonderful thing with them and I am proud to have met them._

_Elder of the Hebi clan _

_Kane _

Izayoi folded back up the letter and put it inside a small box away from where her son's could find it. She knew what Kane had said was true Kouga would benefit from his own kind but was he ready to go there and learn. And she could send Inuyasha to Sesshoumaru to train in his own kind. That way each would get to be with their own kind and then come back to her. She decided to do it. She would wait until they were asleep then send a message to both the wolf demon den and Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru would be the one she was concerened with the most she knew what he thought of half demons and she didn't want him to teach him to hate himself. She would act like his mother and tell him what to do. Inutaisho had said Sesshoumaru had to listen to everything she said so she would tell him what she wanted of him and how she wanted it. But after her sons were asleep.


	9. A Deal with Sesshoumaru & the Wolf Demon

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company they are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do however own the plot and the other characters there in._

_A/n: Well thank you for all your reviews. I really appreciate the positive feed back. So thanks. Any way I figured I would get into the main part of the story instead of sticking to the finer details. So here is the story._

"_Talking"; 'Thinking' ; (me)_

_Chapter Eight: A Deal with Sesshoumaru and the Wolf Demons._

Sesshoumaru sat at his desk reading over a peace treaty from the wolves when an arrow

came into the study from the window. He picked up the arrow and took the message off of it. Because the arrow had glowed blue when it came in he knew it was from his step mother he wondered what she wanted. Sesshoumaru went and sat back down at his desk to read what his step mother had to say.

_Sesshoumaru,_

_As you know I am raising your younger brother on my own and me being human doesn't allow me to teach him everything he knows. I can teach him some things and he can learn the others himself but I think he would benefit having you teach him what he needs to know. I would like to send Inuyasha to you for one month. A month of training in what it means to not only be part inu youkai but also be a prince of the Western Lands. I think that spending a month with you would do him some good. His only friend and play mate is my other son._

_See the day he was born I was walking through the forest where I live and I met an ookami female. She had a child the same age as Inuyasha. Well she and her mate were running from some humans who were going to kill her. Her mate had already died and she was going to die as well as their son. She gave me her son and asked me to care for him then she ran off. He was orphaned so I kept him. He has grown up with Inuyasha and as far as they are concerned they are brothers. I do not want you to tell Inuyasha anything that could jeopardize that relationship do you hear me Sesshoumaru. If I send you Inuyasha I do not want you to mess with what him and Kouga have. They are basically twins and they love each other as such and they act as such they do everything together. _

_I am sending Inuyasha to you for a month and Kouga to his own kind for the same reason. I will send a message to one of the wolf clans in the east because there is one there that will take him for a month. Please Sesshoumaru I need you to teach Inuyasha how he is to act as prince of the Western Lands_ _and I know it would make your father proud to know that you are helping your younger brother with something. It would also benefit you too since I know you had noone to play with before. So if you want him to spend a month with you then write me back and I w ill tell you when he is to arrive. Oh and Sesshoumaru you are welcome here anytime. We are your family too and I know it would make Inuyasha happy if you would come by sometime just to see him. Know this Sesshoumaru, you are my son and always will be. Event though I did not have you myself you are still my son and I love you as if I had._

_Izayoi_

Sesshoumaru thought about it a minute and decided to write her back. He knew his father

would be happy if he were alive if he trained Inuyasha himself. He knew his father would have trained Inuyasha if he were still around so he decided since his father wasn't around it was his responsibility to do it. So Sesshoumaru wrote a response to Izayoi and sent it with one of his faithful Eagles.

Meanwhile in the Eastern Mountain's the wolf leader was reading a letter from a human woman. It had just arrived and the ookami leader was curious as to why a human would send them a letter.

_Eastern Ookami tribe leader,_

_I am Lady Izayoi of the Western Lands. I have with me an ookami pup that was given to me two years ago by his mother. She died protecting him and my own son. I have raised him myself along with my own. They have become good friends and brothers. I am human and I know that I can not give him everything he needs as far as training. So I would like to send my son to you for a month only for training. His name is Kouga he is the son of Riku and Rika. Rika said she and her mate Riku were separated from their pack the day Kouga was born. A group of angry humans attacked them and Riku died protecting Rika and Kouga. Rika gave her life for Kouga, Inuyasha and myself. I have kept my word to Rika. I have raised her son and I will continue to raise him. I thought it was best he get some training from his own kind before he was too old to get it._

_So the deal is I send Kouga to you for a month of training and then when that month is over you send him back here to me. I don't know how long it takes you to train a normal ookami pup but Kouga can learn new tasks in a single day and remember them. I have taught him how to track and hunt just fine. Both my sons can do that. I am sending my son to his older brother for training and I would like to send Kouga to you. So please if it is alright then send word back to me and I will send him. It will take him three days to get to the Eastern foothills and a little longer from there. So do not worry he knows the way he was there already in the Hebi village not far from you just four days ago. So if it is alright please send word back to me that I can send him there for training. Thank you for your time._

_Lady Izayoi._

The Ookami leader was more than pleased. He knew Riku and Rika they were part of his

pack it was sad to learn of their death though it was a surprise to learn that a human was caring for their son. He knew of Lady Izayoi she was the wife of former Lord Inutaisho and the step mother to the current Lord Sesshoumaru. He thought it over and went to consult the elders of his tribe.

The Leader said, "Elders I have news from the West."

The Elders and everyone turned to their leader the elders said, "What is the news that you bare, Taro?"

Taro said, "Elder Kisho I bare news from Lady Izayoi that she has with her Riku and Rika's son Kouga. She wishes to send him here for a month of training."

Elder Kisho said, "Why would a human be raising an ookami pup?"

Taro said, "Riku and Rika died the day they got separated from us. Lady Izayoi says that Rika gave her son to her in hopes of him living. She is raising him along with her own son Inuyasha. Now the last I heard the youngest son of Lord Inutaisho was a half demon. If that is so then Kouga has been raised on human terms. She has a deal for us as well Elder."

Elder Leiko said, "What kind of deal?"

Taro said, "She wants to send Kouga here for a month of training then after a month we are to send him back to her."

Elder Yasuo said, "Why send him back to her? Why not just let him stay here with us?"

Taro said, "She says that it will only take him one month what took us our whole childhood to learn. She says he learns fast and that it will not take him long to do it. She says if he can come here then we are to send a reply to her."

Elder zinan said, "How will he get here?"

Taro said, "She says that he will be here in three days. He was in the Hebi village just four days ago and that one isn't far from here Elder. He knows the way here already so he will come alone."

The Elders convened and were talking amongst themselves about it. After an hour of deliberation they returned to their spot and waited for everyone to calm down.

Taro said, "What is the council's decision?"

Elder Kisho said, "We will allow Kouga to come to us and train but on one condition that in another month she send her other son here and Kouga is to go to learn from Lord Sesshoumaru. That way they learn the same things. For I know she will send Inuyasha to his brother for the same amount of time and the same time in fact so neither of them know what is going on."

Taro said, "Yes elders."

Taro left the council to write a reply to Lady Izayoi's message and then he was going to head to get Kouga. He wanted to go and get Kouga himself so he knew that he got there in one piece.


	10. Chapter9 Will things still be the same

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company they are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do however own the plot and the other characters there in._

_A/n: Well thank you for all your reviews. I really appreciate the positive feed back. So thanks. Any way I figured I would get into the main part of the story instead of sticking to the finer details. So here is the story._

"_Talking"; 'Thinking' ; (me)_

_Chapter Nine: Will Things Still be the Same._

Izayoi had sent her letters to Sesshoumaru and the Wolf demon tribe in the East. Now she

stood outside waiting for a reply from both. She knew it would take longer for the Wolf demon's to answer her than it would her step son Sesshoumaru. Just then an Eagle arrived. Izayoi knew that the Eagle was one of Sesshoumaru's faithful demon messengers. She raised her arm and waved to the Eagle. He started to come towards her and just before he hit the ground he changed into his human form. He walked over to her and bowed.

The Eagle said, "Hello Lady Izayoi. I have a message from Lord Sesshoumaru."

She said, "Hello Kado and thank you."

She took the letter and Kado waited for her to read the letter. To see is there was a reply to it that he would have to send back. Izayoi opened the seal which was the same as his father's seal. It was a shrine Guardian or more like it their true form.

Izayoi said, "You can go in the den and see the children if you want to Kado. You haven't seen Inuyasha since the day he was born and I have another son as well. I adopted the second one though."

Kado said, "Thank you Lady Izayoi."

Kado went into the den to see the children while Izayoi read the letter Sesshoumaru had sent her.

_Mother,_

_Thank you for the invitation first off and I love you too. You are my mother as well whether you gave birth to me or not. I will take Inuyasha for one month to train him in our father's absence. I will not do anything to ruin his relationship with his adopted brother Kouga. I am glad Inuyasha has someone his own age that doesn't hate him for being a half demon. I know its hard because you know I am a half demon as well. My mother was a neko youkai. So I am half cat demon and half dog demon. So there is a lot of controversy as to whether or not I am going to be a great lord like my father._

_Lord Ronin said it was you who turned him mind. So I want to thank you for allowing me the chance to prove myself as a Lord. I promise you I will make you and father proud of me. I will be a better Lord than father was._

_I will personally come and get my little brother from you. I will come in three days to retrieve my ototo from you. That way you are there when I meet him and Kouga. I know it will take three days for Kouga to get there so send them off at the same time that way one doesn't get started before the other one. It will take me three days to get there on foot and it will take us three days to get back as well. That way Kouga and Inuyasha travel the same amount of time. I will see you in three days mother. Be well and live life fully._

_Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands._

(_I know sesshoumaru is out of character but deal with it people._)

Izayoi smiled to herself. She knew it was hard for Sesshoumaru to admit his mother was not a dog demon like his father. He had always denied it when asked about it because it was hard not to. If anyone ever found out he was a half demon they were never seen again. She knew exactly what she was going to do for Sesshoumaru. Kado had come back outside and was just behind her.

She said, "Tell Sesshoumaru I will see him in three days and thank you."

Kado said, "Alright I will."

With that said Kado left back for the Western Lands. He left just before an arrow hit the ground not too far from where he had stood. Izayoi knew it was from the Wolf demon's so she went over and grabbed the arrow and took off the rolled up paper. She read the letter they sent her with intrigue.

_Dear Lady Izayoi,_

_I am the leader of the wolf demon's my name is Taro. Riku and Rika were part of my tribe so our council of elders has said he can come and train with us since he is part of our tribe. There is one condition though. He can stay a month here then go home to you only if you switch them for a month. Your son Inuyasha will come train with us while Kouga goes to your step son Sesshoumaru for training. That is the condition our elders have set up. I know you said that he can make it here on his own but I will come and get him myself since he will be trained under me alone. He will be trained as our next tribe leader. That is what was foreseen by our seer. Our elders think this is the best thing to do so neither knows something the other doesn't. _

_I will personally come and get him from you. I will be there in three days time so please have him packed and ready to go. You must be very trust worthy person or else Rika would never have given you her son. So I am grateful that you have taken care of him. Riku was my little brother and I didn't know what happened to them so thank you for telling me what happened to my younger brother._ _Kouga is my oi or nephew in your language. Thank you for taking care of him for me. I will not tell him if he doesn't know that he isn't your child you can introduce me as what ever you please. I will see you in three days. I am leaving after I send this to you so please do not reply to it._

_Taro leader of the ookami tribe of the East._

Izayoi put the letter away then went to get ready for bed herself. In the morning she was

going to tell her sons that they were each going away somewhere for a month apart. She knew this was going to be torture for them. And that they were both leaving in three days. She knew her step son had left after telling her he was going to come and get Inuyasha himself.

The next morning Izayoi was up making breakfast when the boys woke up. They both went over to their mother and hugged her tightly. They smiled because they missed her while they had been gone and her cooking.

Izayoi said, "After breakfast I am going to take you two somewhere special and I need to talk to you two and I hope you won't be mad at me or hate me for what I am going to say."

Inuyasha said, "Why would we be mad or hate you mommy?"

Kouga said, "We could never hate you or be mad at you mother."

Izayoi said, "I will tell you when we get to where we are going my sweets not before."

After breakfast they all headed to a place pretty far from their home. It was beautiful waterfall in it as well. Both Kouga and Inuyasha gasped at how beautiful it was. It was completely untouched by anything. Near the waterfall they saw two stone statues of the same symbol. They went over to the waterfall and looked into the pool of water.

Inuyasha said, "Its beautiful momma."

Kouga said, "Yeah mommy its beautiful just like you. Its just as peaceful as your heat and scent."

Izayoi smiled and said, "Thank you Kouga and Inuyasha. But I need you to come and sit with me for a minute."

Izayoi went over to the stone statues and sat down in front of them. Her sons went over to her and sat in front of her. To her right were the statues and she smiled at them. Izayoi knew it was time to tell her sons the truth about what had happened the night they were born and why she cared for them both.

Izayoi said, "Do either of you know what this symbol means?"

Both boys said, "Its Nina's symbol momma."

Izayoi said, "Who is Nina?"

They said, "Nina is our goddess. She is the one that watches over wolves and dog demons."

Izayoi said, "Do you know what these stones mean and why there are names on them?"

Both boys looked at the stones and saw the names they looked at there mom.

They said, "No mommy."

Izayoi said, "These are graves sweet hearts. These two graves are for people I met the day you two were born. They gave their lives to protect you two."

Kouga said, "Why did they do that momma?"

Inuyasha said, "Yeah why would they willing die to protect Kyodai and me?"

Izayoi said, "They did it because they loved you Kouga. There is something I haven't told you Kouga and you are old enough to know now."

Kouga said, "What do you mean momma?"

Izayoi said, "First off Kouga I am not your real mother. I took you in after your parents were killed. It is true that you two were born the same night at the same time but you two are total opposites. Kouga dear you are an Ookami while you Inuyasha are an Inu hanyou. These two graves Kouga are your real parents. They gave their lives to protect you and Inuyasha. Your mother's only wish was that I take care of you and tell you what they did for you and Inuyasha."

Kouga looked at the graves and knew he had no memory of them. He knew that it hurt for him to find out that everything he had known was a lie but he knew something else. It didn't matter who his real mother was the woman in front of him was his mother no matter what and so what if Inuyasha turned out not to be his real brother it didn't matter to him in one bit. Inuyasha was his Kyodai no matter what.

Kouga said, "I don't care if you are not the one who gave birth to me. I have no memory of these people. I know they are my parents but all I have is a memory of a scent and a heartbeat that is all and voices."

Kouga looked at Izayoi and smiled at her. She looked back at him and smiled a small smile.

Kouga said, "You may not have given birth to me like you did Inuyasha but I don't care you are my mommy and that will never change. Inuyasha is my Kyodai no matter what anyone says. No one will make me think different about that. You are my family now and always will be."

Kouga went over to his mother and hugged her tightly. Izayoi smiled to herself and hugged her son tightly. She looked at Inuyasha and smiled he smiled back at her and hugged her too. She held both her boys tightly while she cried silent tears which they noticed.

Kouga said, "Momma why are you crying?"

Izayoi said, "I have something else to tell you two. Please sit back down."

Both Kouga and Inuyasha sat back down in their spots to see what their mother would say. Izayoi wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled to herself. She had really brave and courageous children. They didn't care who they were to each other they were a family and that made her happy.


	11. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company they are the creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do however own the plot and the other characters there in._

_A/n: Well in this chapter there are some things that you normally wouldn't find in anything I write that much. But I do not condone violence with children of any kind so please no flames for this. Thank you._

"_Talking"; 'Thinking' ; (me)_

_Chapter Ten: One Day Till the Visitors Come and a Horrible Experience._

Izayoi sat in front of Rika and Riku's graves with her sons and knew she had to tell her sons that tomorrow there would be two visitors coming to see them. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she told them.

Izayoi said, "Tomorrow there will be two visitors coming. One for each of you. You are going to go with them for a month to get the training that you need."

They said, "No momma I want to stay with you."

Izayoi said, "I can not teach you what they can. Inuyasha you will be going to with your older half brother Sesshoumaru to your father's castle to train for a month. Kouga you will be going back East to the mountains to train with the wolf demons there. Your own uncle is coming to get you. You will be trained as the leader of the ookami tribe while you Inuyasha will be trained in what it means to be the prince of the Western Lands. Your father and now your brother ruled this entire side of the continent and when your brother is gone you will rule it."

They said, "Wait we are to be alone for a month away from each other."

Izayoi said, "Yes you are then if Sesshoumaru accepts you two will switch places and Inuyasha will go and train with the wolves while you Kouga go and train with Sesshoumaru. They will both be here tomorrow to get you so we should go and get you two packed up for them."

Inuyasha was crying he didn't want to be away from Kouga. He loved him and he didn't want to go with someone who he had never met. He wanted to stay with Kouga. Inuyasha was afraid if he was away from Kouga then he wouldn't see him again and he couldn't do that not for two whole months.

Inuyasha yelled, "NO MOMMY. I AM NOT GOING WITH SESSHOUMARU NOT WITH OUT Kyodai. I DON'T WANT TO BE AWAY FROM KOUGA."

Izayoi said, "I am sorry Inuyasha it was already decided."

Inuyasha yelled again," I WON'T GO WITH HIM."

Inuyasha knew if he said it he would regret it but he was really mad at his mommy for making him leave his brother. Inuyasha just wanted this to never have happened. He was really crying now and it wouldn't stop. Inuyasha stood up and looked at his mother he took a deep breath and yelled at her again.

Inuyasha yelled, "I HATE YOU MOMMY."

Both Kouga and Izayoi looked at him and Izayoi looked really hurt. Inuyasha turned at ran from her into the forest. Kouga yelled his name and looked back at his mom and saw the real hurt look on her face. He went over to her and put his arms around her.

Kouga said, "He didn't mean it mommy. I know he didn't Inuyasha really loves you he's just upset is all."

Inuyasha knew what he had said was a horrible thing to say to her but he was really pissed off at her for making him go away from his brother. He hated his mother for everything she had put him through or was going to put him through. He thought '_what does she think she is doing sending me with someone I don't even know and then having to leave her and Kouga for a month. I won't be able to see my Kyodai for a whole month. I can't do that I love him with all my heart how could she do that to us. How could she promise that we would go with these people for a month away from her and each other.'_

Inuyasha knew what he said was mean and he knew that he would have to take it back but right now all that mattered was he was going off with someone he would only just meet and that scared him. He stopped not that far from where they lived. He sat next to this old wooden well (_I see a connection to where they are in this world. Don't you?_). That always made him feel happy to and safe. He sat next to it and cried for a long time because he knew that he was going to be in big trouble for what he had just said to his mom.

Kouga went after his brother while their mom went back home to make dinner and pack their things. Kouga knew where his brother was and he knew how long it was going to take to get there. It was the same place he always ran to when upset or scared. He went to this old dried up well not far from a neighboring village.

Night had fallen when Kouga finally got to the well. He saw his brother curled up next to the well fast asleep Kouga could tell he had cried himself to sleep. This really pained Kouga to see because he knew that he only cried when he was scared or in pain. Well right now he didn't smell any fear coming from him so that mean he was in pain of some kind. He went over to him and knelt down. He placed a hand on Inuyasha's back and in response he got a whimpering cry. Kouga knew that by the whimpering cry Inuyasha's back was really sore.

Kouga said softly, "Kyodai its ok. I'm right here you can get up now its safe now I'm here. I won't let anyone or anything hurt you I promise."

Inuyasha opened his eyes and wrapped his arms around Kouga's waist. Kouga in turn ran his clawed hand down Inuyasha's hair.

Kouga said, "Why does your back hurt Kyodai?"

But it would not be Inuyasha who answered him. It would be the one who harmed Inuyasha in the first place. Some of the villagers from the village had come this way to dispose of a demon's body and found Inuyasha sitting next to the very well they were going to throw it in. So they threw it in the well and then had fun with the little half breed.

The man said, "His back hurts because we made it hurt filthy wolf."

Kouga turned around and saw the humans behind him. There were two human males behind them. The leader Kouga guessed was the one who had answered him so he was the one to deal with and the rest would run away like scared little mice to a cat.

Kouga said, "Why would you hurt him? He did nothing wrong. I know my Kyodai and he would do nothing to warrant you to do anything to harm him. And as for the filthy wolf comment I am not filthy I bath more than you do. You are the filthy one you actually make me want to vomit with that bad smell of yours."

The group of humans were not happy with what they had said and the fact that they were both laughing didn't help much either. They had to teach them a lesson they wouldn't soon forget. The one who had spoken earlier looked at his friend and smiled.

The first man said, "Well Kiyashi why don't we teach these two some manners huh?"

Kiyashi said, "Yeah lets teach these two boys a lesson in manners Makoto."

Kiyashi grabbed Kouga by his ponytail and pulled him away from Inuyasha who screamed only to be smacked across the mouth by Makoto. Inuyasha hit the ground next to the well with the taste of blood in his mouth. He could hear his brother screaming and struggling to get away from the other guy. No one could hear them screaming because they were too far away from anyone. Makoto grabbed Inuyasha by his hair and slammed his head against the wooden well. The last thing Inuyasha remembered was hearing Kouga scream his name then his whole world went black.

Kouga watch from where he was being held as this guy called Makoto slammed Inuyasha's head hard against the wooden well effectively knocking him unconscious. Kouga watched in horror as this man undressed and watched as the man raped his brother repeatedly. Once the man named Makoto was done with Inuyasha he went for him. He remember being hit repeatedly until he quit fighting them. He just laid there and watched the stars above him as he felt the hands of one man on him. He knew the other was over with his brother doing the same thing the other man had done. He also knew that if he said a word then the man above him would make it worse.

Makoto leaned down to Kouga and whispered, "Listen little wolf if you want this to stop for both of you then you are going to have to cooperate with me."

Kouga said in a voice that didn't sound like his own, "What do you want me to do?"

Makoto said, "That is a very good boy. Just help me and enjoy it is all. Allow yourself to enjoy and feel pleasure in what we are doing. Once you show me that you like it we will leave and you may do as you please. But know this little one if you say a word about this to anyone we will be back don't you bet."

Kouga played this guy's sick game if it got them to leave them alone. The once silent clearing was soon filled with moans coming for Kouga as the man raped him. He knew what he was doing was wrong but he couldn't allow his brother to wake up with that guy doing that to him. So he would play Makoto's sick little game until he was satisfied and then leave. He would tell no one what had happened for his brother's sake if not his own. Once Makoto had finished with Kouga he leaned down near his ear and licked his neck.

Makoto whispered, "You are very good little wolf. Now next time a human comes to you act the way you are supposed to and don't talk to them like you did me. Show them respect or they will do this again to teach you what it means. Do you understand?"

Kouga said in that strange voice, "Yes sir."

Makoto said, "Are you going to say anything to anyone about this?"

Kouga said, "No sir I won't say a word."

Kiyashi smiled and said, "Did you enjoy it little wolf? You sounded like you did."

Kouga said, "Yes I did."

Kouga could hear the words come out of his mouth but wasn't believing them he knew that was what they wanted to hear him say. He was still playing their little game the only part that wasn't a game was when he said he wouldn't say a word because he really planed on not saying a single word to anyone. After a little while Makoto and Kiyashi left but Kouga was too out of it to realize that both he and his brother were still naked.

Inuyasha awoke to feeling the breeze on his bare skin. He sat up and he was in a lot of pain. He lower body hurt as well as his head. He noticed he was completely naked and smelled like the human males. He could only imagine what they had done for he wasn't awake to know. He quickly put his closes back on and looked for his brother. Inuyasha saw Kouga lying not that far from him on his back staring at the sky. He too was naked and Inuyasha could smell only one human on him and something else that he didn't want to know about. He crawled over to his brother and got so he could see his face.

Inuyasha said, "Kouga?"

Kouga didn't say a word to Inuyasha nor did he see him. Kouga had went into a world of his own in his head when the guy was raping him. He didn't remember half of what had happened just that he didn't want to be touched by anyone anymore. With the exception of his mother and brother. They would never hurt him like that man had. Inuyasha could see all the cuts and bruises on Kouga's face but couldn't get him to answer him. Inuyasha just decided to put his brother's clothes on him and wait for him to snap out of it.

_A/n: I would like to thank Demonic-Tamai, InuGoddess715, Ryo-Chan WolfGirl, Sailer Star Super, Neith, and Lady Kanna-chan for all their support and enguragement. I really appreaciate the reviews you guys have given me. I have never felt more appreciated for my writting then right now. So thank you._


	12. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company they are the soul creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do however own the plot and other characters._

_A/n: Just for the record I do not condone violence of any kind. That means man, woman, child, or nature. I am a peace loving person and that is how I will stay._

"_Talking", 'Thinking' . (me)_

_Chapter Eleven: The Day We Get Out of Hell and the Day Our Training Begins._

Inuyasha waited for Kouga to snap out of it before he went to get help. He knew what

they had done to them it wasn't that hard to figure out after the smell registered in his little brain. Inuyasha was scared because he had seen this look once before on a woman his mother had to help after she had been raped. It took his mother hours to get her to snap out of it and that was intense. Inuyasha went and found the same thing his mother had used. It was called a moon lily it was a demonic flower that one grew in certain places around the well was a lot of them. Inuyasha then placed the lily under Kouga's nose like his mom had done to the woman and talked to him softly. After almost a whole shadow move(_shadow move: hour; moons: months; just a little back ground to help with the story a little bit_) but Kouga finally snapped out of it. Inuyasha was the first thing he saw and Kouga pulled his brother down to him and hugged him tightly.

Kouga the looked Inuyasha straight in the eye and said, "No one it to find out about this alright. They said they would come back and do it again so no talking about it alright. This is our little secret alright."

Inuyasha said, "Alright Kouga this is our secret."

Kouga got up and walked away with Inuyasha following behind him like his tail. Kouga went to the ideyu to get cleaned up so their mother wouldn't see anything and their visitors wouldn't smell anything. Inuyasha saw how bad Kouga was beat up and knew they were going to have to lie about it.

Inuyasha said, "Kouga what do we tell mom about the fact your all beat up?"

Kouga snapped, "You tell her you don't know what happened and let me deal with it alright."

Inuyasha put his ears down flat against his head. His brother never did that to him. He never snapped at him especially when he was only asking a question. He was the one person who Inuyasha knew he could count on to treat him as an equal now it was like Kouga was mad at him and he didn't know why. Kouga turned around to see Inuyasha's ears flat against his head as he bathed himself. Kouga felt bad for snapping at him so he went over to him and pulled him to his naked chest and ran his fingers through his hair.

Kouga said, "I am sorry Kyodai for snapping at you. It is not your fault this happened to us alright. I should not be taking this out on you."

Inuyasha said, "Its ok Kyodai I know you didn't mean it. Its ok this is hard for both of us to handle. I was thinking Kyodai."

Kouga said, "About what Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha said, "With what has happened to us recently I'm beginning to understand something. If we leave Kouga to train with these people then when we come back we can get revenge on the ones who did this to us. We will be stronger then we were this time and they wont win against us. We may be apart for two months but at least when we come back we will be strong enough to ensure that never happens to anyone ever again."

Kouga saw his Kyodai's logic and said, "Alright so we go with them then?"

Inuyasha looked his brother in the eye and said, "Yeah we go with them. Now lets get back before mother has a heart attack wondering where we went. I still have to apologize for what I said to mother earlier. Do you think that is why those men did that to use because of what I said to mother?"

Kouga looked at Inuyasha and said, "No Inuyasha that is not why they did that to us. They did it to us because they are sick bastards nothing more. They got off on what they did to us and nothing else. They are sick fuckers who deserve to be killed for what they did."

Inuyasha knew that Kouga wasn't just saying that either he was actually telling him that. He actually made him feel better about it. If that was even possible which Inuyasha highly doubted. Inuyasha thought '_How could this have happened? We must have been really bad to make them do that. I know I said I hated mother but I don't I was only mad at her but after what has happened I am glad we are going to train because then we will be strong and we will make them pay for this._' Kouga and Inuyasha both got out fo the water and got dried then put their cloths on and headed for home. Their visitors would be there in the morning.

Once home the brothers went into the main part of the room and their mother was cooking over the fire pit while they were coming toward her. Inuyasha went over to his mom first and put his arms around her legs. She looked at him and smiled.

Inuyasha said, "I am sorry I said I hated you mommy. I don't hate you I love you."

Kouga stayed away from the fire light until his mother told him to come help her with the packing while Inuyasha finished their dinner. Kouga went into the room he shared with Inuyasha to help his mother with the packing. Izayoi hadn't noticed the fact Kouga was all beaten up or that he was being completely quiet for some reason. She didn't notice because she was busy making sure they had everything they would need so wasn't paying that much attention.

Izayoi said, "Are you alright Kouga you are being awfully quiet?"

Kouga said, "Yes mother I am fine."

Izayoi didn't believe that for a second so she turned around and saw all the bruises and cuts on Kouga's face and neck. She dropped the cloths she had and went to his side. She inspected the wounds and looked really worried.

Izayoi said, "How did this happen?"

Kouga said, "I went to go and get Inuyasha and before I got to him I ran into some humans from the neighboring village. They cornered me and I couldn't get away form them. I didn't fight back mommy I let them beat me up till they got bored. I am fine really I am."

For some strange reason Izayoi didn't buy that explanation at all. She knew he was lying to her about something but she couldn't tell what it was or why he was lying to her. She thought maybe he did something wrong but he would have said it. She didn't know what was wrong but she knew he would tell her in his own time she hoped anyway.

Izayoi said, "You know you can tell me anything right Kouga?"

Kouga said, "I know mommy but right now I have nothing to tell that is of any importance."

That night Izayoi watched her sons sleep and saw that Kouga was having a nightmare. She went over to him and shook him so he would wake up. He woke up and looked straight ahead. He didn't say a word he just sat there crying silently with his knees pulled up to his chest. Inuyasha woke up and went over to him and put his arms around Kouga and made a soothing growling sound. Kouga went buried his head in Inuyasha's chest and cried harder. Inuyasha knew what was wrong with him. Inuyasha looked at him mother who was sitting there with a worried look on her face. Inuyasha put his head against Kouga's head so he had easy access to his ear.

Inuyasha whispered so only Kouga could hear him, "Maybe we should tell mom what happened. She can probably do something we can't do. Kouga?"

Kouga's head was on Inuyasha's lap but he was staring straight ahead and wasn't answering Inuyasha in the least. Izayoi reached forward and touched her son's face lightly. Kouga didn't even react to that and Inuyasha knew at that moment his brother had hidden again. He had dreamed about it and knew that to Kouga saw it as if it was happening all over again.

Inuyasha looked at his mom and said, "Mom something bad happened while we were gone."

Izayoi said, "I know your brother said he got attacked by humans on his way to get you."

Inuyasha said, "That isn't true mommy Kouga lied to you."

Izayoi looked at her son and saw the pained look in his eyes. She knew something had happened to the both of them something that was now bothering her son Kouga. She looked at her two sons and tried to prepare herself for what she was going to hear.

Izayoi said, "What really happened Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha said, "I don't know exactly but I can guess at what happened. I was sitting near the dry well in the forest not far from the other village when two humans came up to the well to throw a demon in it. They saw me and decided to play the favorite game of beat on the half breed. Well Kouga got there a little after nightfall and I was lying on the ground trying to make the pain in my back stop from where they had beaten me. He went over to me and knelt down on the ground next to me and was trying to help me. Kouga asked me why my back hurt and before I could answer him the two who had attacked me were there. The leader of the two told Kouga 'his back hurts because we made it hurt filthy wolf.' Kouga turned to them because they were behind him and when he did Kouga said, 'Why would you hurt him? He did nothing wrong. I know my Kyodai and he would do nothing to warrant you to do anything to harm him. And as for the filthy wolf comment I am not filthy I bath more than you do. You are the filthy one you actually make me want to vomit with that bad smell of yours.' We both laughed because it was true and we knew it. Well the guy got mad at us for it."

Izayoi said, "Then what happened Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha said, "Then the man turned to the other one and said, 'Well Kiyashi why don't we teach these two some manners huh?' Kiyashi said to the other one, 'Yeah lets teach these two boys a lesson in manners Makoto.' Then Kiyashi grabbed and pulled Kouga away from me. I screamed for Kouga and Makoto smacked me across the mouth for it. I hit the ground and I could taste blood in my mouth. I could hear Kouga screaming and struggling trying to get away from them but it didn't work. Makoto then grabbed me by my hair and slammed my head against the well and that's the last thing I remember before waking up. I don't know how long I was out but when I woke up we were..."

Izayoi said, "You two we what?"

Inuyasha did the same thing Kouga had he was staring away from his mother who looked really worried about her two sons. She had only seen a few people with this look and they were not like her boys in the least. She knew her sons would never allow that to happen to them they would fight back first. She knew that Kouga would rather die then allow anyone to harm Inuyasha and him. Inuyasha wasn't the one to answer her it was Kouga.

Kouga said in the same strange voice as before, "After he knocked Inuyasha out he raped him and made me watch. I tried my best to get away from the one who held me but I couldn't. After Makoto was done with Inuyasha he went after me. All I remember is being hit a lot and his hands on me as well as the pain. Then being told, 'Listen little wolf if you want this to stop for both of you then you are going to have to cooperate with me.' I remember saying, 'what do you want me to do?' I was told, 'That is a very good boy. Just help me and enjoy it is all. Allow yourself to enjoy and feel pleasure in what we are doing. Once you show me that you like it we will leave and you may do as you please. But know this little one if you say a word about this to anyone we will be back don't you bet.' So I did as I was told. I played his sick little game to get them to stop and leave us alone. He licked my neck and told me, 'You are very good little wolf. Now next time a human comes to you act the way you are supposed to and don't talk to them like you did me. Show them respect or they will do this again to teach you what it means. Do you understand?' I said, 'Yes sir.' He then asked me if I would say a word. I told him no I wouldn't say a word. Even if it meant they did it again to me I wouldn't allow them to harm Inuyasha again. Then before they left Kiyashi asked me, 'Did you enjoy it little wolf? You sure sounded like you did.' I told him yes so they would leave us alone. I just wanted them to leave us alone."

Izayoi picked her son up in her arms and held him close to her. She rocked him back and forth trying to get him to calm down. She tired shushing him but it didn't work.

Izayoi said, " I promise you Kouga no one is ever going to do that to either of you again I promise. I will punish them for this. I promise you that boys no one is ever going to hurt you like that again. You are safe here at home Kouga they are not going to do that again with me here."

After a while both Kouga and Inuyasha had fallen asleep next to on another so she left them there like that since it seemed to calm them. Izayoi went out and wrote a letter to the priestess of the neighboring village to tell her what her sons had said to see if there was anything she could do. Mean while she knew that since they were leaving in the morning they would be safe from anything those men decided to do.

The next morning Kouga, Inuyasha, and Izayoi were waiting for their two visitors that were due that day. They were all playing together with a ball when Sesshoumaru and Taro entered the clearing across from on another. They looked at each other and nodded in acknowledgment of one another. Izayoi quit playing and was looking at her two visitors.

Izayoi said, "Alright you two go and get your bags."

Inuyasha and Kouga both ran inside the cave to get their bags. Then they came out and smiled at their mom. She knelt down and smiled at them as well. Kouga dropped his bag and threw his arms around her neck and hugged her tightly.

Kouga said, "I love you mommy and I will see you when I come back alright."

Izayoi said, "I love you too Kouga dear and I will be here waiting for you."

Izayoi pointed to the wolf and said, "That is your uncle Taro alright he is the one you are going with at the moment."

Izayoi turned him just enough and said, "This is Lord Sesshoumaru he is your older half brother just as he is Inuyasha's alright. He is the one Inuyasha is going with ok."

Kouga went over to Sesshoumaru and looked at him. He went all around him and Sesshoumaru knew what he was doing Kouga had assumed the alpha of the two and was checking to see if he was safe enough for Inuyasha to go with. Sesshoumaru knelt down once Kouga stood in front of him and smiled at him.

Kouga said, "You will be nice to my Kyodai while he is with you?"

Sesshoumaru said, "I promise you Ototo I will be nice to Inuyasha while he is with me."

Inuyasha went over to the wolf and did the same thing. He was leery of letting Kouga go with anyone but someone he trusted. Sesshoumaru watched his younger brother circle the Ookami in front of them as Kouga had done to him. Once Inuyasha had stopped circling him the Ookami knelt down like Sesshoumaru had and gave Inuyasha a small smile. Inuyasha wanted to make his older brother proud of him. Since Kouga had asked Sesshoumaru in common tongue which was used by humans. He was going to ask this Ookami in their language so he wouldn't think they were ignorant. He also wanted to prove to his brother that he could talk to him in his own language and that his mother had taught them nicely.

Inuyasha said in semi perfect inu youkai, "You swear to treat my Kyodai with respect and love while he is with you?"

Both Taro and Sesshoumaru were impressed with the knowledge that this small child held already. Both smiled and knew this was going to be a good thing because it was only half of what he had meant. He decided to test the boys knowledge while he had a chance.

Taro said in inu youkai, "I swear on Nina herself that I will treat Kouga with the love he deserves from me being my family and he will be treated with the respect the heir to our tribe has."

Inuyasha said, "I trust you Leader Taro in what you say. You would not swear on Nina herself if you didn't mean it. She would severely punish you for it if you did."

Inuyasha turned from him and went over to his mother. She was still knelt there and she smiled at him with a huge smile. He hugged her tightly and smiled at her.

Inuyasha said, "Do not worry Mother we will be fine with them. I will see you in two months ok."

Izayoi said, "Ok Inuyasha. I love you with all my heart the both of you. I couldn't have asked for two better sons than you two."

Inuyasha said, "I love you too mommy."

Izayoi got up and walked over to Taro and did the one thing only female wolves did. She knelt on the ground of him and waited till he said it was alright. Then she hugged him and smiled.

Izayoi said, "You are taking Kouga now then Inuyasha after right?"

Sesshoumaru said, "What do you mean mother?"

Izayoi said, "The only way the council of wolves in Taro's tribe would allow Kouga to come train with them is if the month after their training was over that they switched places. You are to train Inuyasha for the first month then you are to train Kouga for the second month. That way they learn the same things."

Inuyasha turned to Sesshoumaru and said, "Either way we will both know what the other does. We will show each other everything anyway when we get back so its just easier to learn from the one who taught us in the first place."

Sesshoumaru said, "Alright its ok with me. As long as they treat Inuyasha the way he is supposed to be being the heir to my throne when I die if I do not have one by then."

Taro said, "Same with you Lord Sesshoumaru. And yes Lady Izayoi that is true. They will be back with you in two months time."

Izayoi then went over to her other son Sesshoumaru and bowed to him. Then pulled him

into a hug that surprised Taro. She kissed his left temple and smiled at him. He hugged her back and kissed her cheek.

Izayoi said, "I know your father would be proud of what you are doing Sesshoumaru. I am proud to call you my son. I know you will be a great role model for both of your little brothers. As I know Leader Taro will be as well. I love you Sesshoumaru."

Sesshoumaru wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his chest and took in a deep breath of her scent. Izayoi smiled at him and knew what he was doing. The same thing his father did when he was going away. He was taking in her scent so he would not forget it.

Sesshoumaru said, "I love you too mother. Do not worry I will care for them as father would."

With that both boys turned and shouldered their packs. They then turned to one another and shared a small hug and Kouga kissed Inuyasha's cheek and Inuyasha kissed Kouga's cheek. Inuyasha smiled and so did Kouga. Inuyasha then took off the band he used to hold his hair up and handed it to Kouga. The others were watching them intently. Kouga reached up and untied his hair and handed his tie to Inuyasha and took Inuyasha's tie and put his hair back up as did Inuyasha with Kouga's tie. Then they turned and left with their family for the first time apart.

They would not see each other for two months and then they would be stronger.

Kouga turned around and yelled, "INUYASHA WHEN I SEE YOU AGAIN YOU BETTER BE A WHOLE LOT STRONGER THEN YOU ARE MUTT!"

Inuyasha turned and laughed and yelled, "YEAH SAME TO YOU FLEA BAG."

Kouga and Inuyasha were both laughing when they left the clearing where their mother stood. They each went a different way like they would in their later years. Izayoi knew this for she had seen her own death. She was a seer of the human kind. She knew that she was going to die in a years time and the boys would be separated for a long time. They would not even recognize each other after a while and they would not know it was their Kyodai after that. It would take them a long time to remember each other. She was just hoping they had fun where they were for the time being even though it was going to be hard work on both their counts.


	13. The Journey to the Western Lands

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company they are the soul creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do however own the plot and other characters._

_A/n: Just for the record I do not condone violence of any kind. That means man, woman, child, or nature. I am a peace loving person and that is how I will stay._

"_Talking", 'Thinking' . (me)_

_Chapter Twelve: The Journey to the Western Lands._

Inuyasha was walking with Sesshoumaru in complete silence when he suddenly stopped. Inuyasha looked at his older brother in a curious way. Sesshoumaru was looking straight ahead and then he looked at Inuyasha and smiled. Inuyasha smiled back at his brother.

Inuyasha said, "Why did we stop brother?"

Sesshoumaru said, "We stopped because I want to see how much you know Inuyasha. Come with me."

Inuyasha followed his older brother into the clearing and when Sesshoumaru sat down on a log Inuyasha stood in front of him. Sesshoumaru reached his hand out to him and Inuyasha looked at it.

Sesshoumaru said, "Give me your bag then have a seat on the ground."

Inuyasha handed Sesshoumaru his bag and then knelt on the ground in front of Sesshoumaru and sat on his own feet. Sesshoumaru found this strangely odd because it was a wolf and human would sit. But if that was how Inuyasha was comfortable sitting then he wasn't going to complain.

Sesshoumaru said, "What languages can you speak other than common tongue?"

Inuyasha said, "I can speak Inu, Kumo, KitSune, Watashi, Ryu, and Neko."

Sesshoumaru said, "Is that all you can speak and how fluently are those one you said?"

Inuyasha said, "I can speak Inu semi fluently, Kumo fluently, Watashi fluently, Ryu fluently, and Neko fluently. And in answer to the other part of the question no I can speak one more language."

Sesshoumaru said, "What is it and how fluently?"

Inuyasha said, "I can speak fluent Hebi. Same as Kouga."

Sesshoumaru looked at his brother in disbelief. No one could speak fluent Hebi other than the Hebi themselves. He wondered how his little brother could learn a language he himself could not learn.

Sesshoumaru said, "How is it you can speak Hebi fluently Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha said, "I can speak Hebi fluently because me and Kouga were taught how to speak it while we were in the village. Actually we only heard it spoken and we picked it up."

Sesshoumaru said, "When were you in a Hebi village?"

"Probably about a the first part of summer. Why is that a problem?" said Inuyasha.

Sesshoumaru said, "No its not a problem. Why were you in the village to start with?"

Inuyasha said, "A Sune- ku got lost out by our village on his way home. We were tracking him when Kouga and I got really close to him and we noticed that he couldn't see us. We know they are dangerous but we were taught if anyone is hurt or in need of help we are to help them especially if they are older or younger than we are. Well the Sune- ku was older than us and for that he was an elder so we helped him find his way back home in the foothills of the Eastern Mountains not far from where Kouga is going actually."

Sesshoumaru said, "Do you know the name of this Hebi?"

Inuyasha said, "His name is Nanni. He gave us a place to stay and rest along with food because it took us three days of nonstop walking to get there and three days of nonstop walking to get back home. So we were gone for six days. We were told we could come back anytime we wanted and that we were always welcome there. Mommy says we were made members of the Hebi clan and no Hebi will hurt us."

Sesshoumaru said, "How does your mother know you were made members just because of an invitation to come back."

Inuyasha got up from his place on the ground and went toward his older brother. He then reached his hand in his shirts and pulled out the necklace that the Hebi elder had given to him and his brother. Sesshoumaru saw the necklace and nearly fell over. He took hold of it and looked at it more closely.

Sesshoumaru said, "She is right you two were made members of the Hebi clan. I don't know how it happened but you were. Don't worry about it alright. All that it means is that not a single Hebi can touch you while you wear this medallion."

Inuyasha went and sat back down on the ground and waited for what else his brother would ask him about. He knew a lot of things. Some of them he had to learn the hard way but he learned them none the less. He knew things that most boys didn't learn unless deciding to be a monk and he was a fighter. Most people asked his mother why she taught them such things if they were going to be fighters. Her response was always the same. Why should my boys be ignorant when it comes to these things. If they know then they will survive longer without help from anyone but each other and themselves.

Sesshoumaru said, "I know mother is a priestess, midwife, and healer. So how much do you know about healing people when they are sick or injured?"

Inuyasha said, "I know a lot mother taught me."

Sesshoumaru said, "Ok I will hold you true to that one. I will put you with Shinta to test how much more she can teach you that your mother can not. She is our father's healer. She has worked in our home for a long time and she knows a lot of things."

Inuyasha said, "Ok. Big brother?"

Sesshoumaru looked at Inuyasha and said, "What Ototo?"

Inuyasha said, "Can I ask you a question?"

Sesshoumaru said, "Yeah Inuyasha."

Inuyasha said, "Why do people hate me? Why do they call me a worthless half breed?"

To Sesshoumaru this was a hard question to have placed in front of him. He knew he could answer if truthfully or he could lie. He didn't want to hurt his brother's feelings so he decided to lie about it and see what it got him.

Sesshoumaru said, "Inuyasha they are all just jerks. They are doing it to make you feel inferior you should not listen to them."

Inuyasha said, "Why are you acting as if I did something wrong? Are you like them? Do you hate having me around as well?"

He just got backed right into a corner. Now he had to be truthful about everything. Nothing was going to get him anywhere unless he did become truthful. So he got up and walked over to his little brother. Where he sat on the ground and opened his arms to the smaller pup. Who in turn got up and crawled into the older pups arms where he was held tightly to the older one's chest.

Sesshoumaru said, "I want you to listen to me alright Inuyasha. No matter what happens you are always going to be my ototo alright. Nothing is every going to change that. Not a damn thing. I will never hate you or treat you the way others do. You have to understand something Inuyasha. People whether they be human or demon do not like half demons because they are different than them. They are more powerful and more dangerous. Now you are not dangerous because something is keeping father's blood sealed but see most half demons do not have what you have. Most half demons are nothing more than blood thirsty monsters who kill just for the pleasure of killing and then they are killed as well. When people see a half demon they see something they hate and something that can kill them without remorse or feeling. Then there are those like your mother and Kouga who think of a half demon as a blessing. They think that half demons are the best of both worlds. See demons do not have the same feelings as you do little brother. They can feel love, pain, sorrow, happiness, and joy but only when they are fighting. Only when we are killing other things can we feel those things. Humans on the other hand can feel them all the time when ever they want to. That is something we demons can never do. See to a demon a half demon is nothing more than an inconvenience on their blood line. It is a disgrace to have a half demon on your blood line. So demons tend to kill their half demon children at least the female demons do. But anyway like I was saying about feelings. A half demon is the best of both worlds because they can feel like a human does but they are strong like a demon. You Ototo are exactly like that. You will grow up to be legendary just like father was. That is our legacy we will be legendary demons. I think like your mother and brother I see you as a blessing. Because without you I would be alone right now. If father were to have died before you were brought into this world then I would be alone. You are the only family I have left Inuyasha. Without you I would become bitter and miserable. You are the one thing in this world I would not trade for anything. I do not hate you brother I love you with all my heart and I always will. Now lets go home shall we."

Sesshoumaru picked Inuyasha up and shouldered the pack he had brought. Sesshoumaru knew that Inuyasha was getting tired and would need to sleep some so carrying him was the best way to achieve that. So Sesshoumaru carried his little brother for a while. It was almost night fall when he reached the place he was heading. He looked down at the little bundle in his arms and smiled. Inuyasha was fast asleep in his arms with his face buried in his tail. Sesshoumaru noticed though that his little brother also had his thumb in his mouth and that it didn't seem to bother him that he didn't recognize the smell. That bothered Sesshoumaru a little bit that he didn't care that there was a new smell near him and he wasn't even aware of it.

Sesshoumaru walked over to the waterfall and went behind it. Behind the waterfall was a secluded cave that only one other person knew was there and that person was dead. This was the one place Sesshoumaru felt his father more clearly the one place besides the mans own rooms that carried his scent strongly. Sesshoumaru had stayed there the night before so he could get Inuyasha. They would spend the night there then head out in the morning. He walked over to the futon in the back and placed his little brother on it. He then took off his armor and his tail and placed them on a place not far from where they slept. He then went and started the fire then went out and hunted for some dinner.

Inuyasha awoke to find himself lying on a bed in a cave. There was a fire going. Inuyasha walked outside the cave and couldn't find his brother anywhere. He went over to the water and got some to drink then went back inside where he knew he was safe. To night was a horrible night for Inuyasha for it was the night of the no moon. Which meant Inuyasha was human tonight and he was alone. He was never alone when he changed he was either with his mother or with Kouga at the time so now to have no one with him was scary. Inuyasha went over into a corner that was completely dark from the fire and waited for the night to change him.

Sesshoumaru came back to the clearing with two fish and two rabbits for their dinner. He was walking toward the waterfall when a scent hit his nose. Sesshoumaru dropped the fish and the rabbits on the ground and ran inside the cave and to find why he smelled the unmistakable scent of fear and tears coming from within.


	14. The Journey to the Eastern Lands

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company they are the soul creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do however own the plot and other characters._

_A/n: Just for the record I do not condone violence of any kind. That means man, woman, child, or nature. I am a peace loving person and that is how I will stay._

"_Talking", 'Thinking' . (me)_

_Chapter Thirteen: The Journey to the Eastern Mountains._

Kouga was walking behind Taro when they came to the cross roads to where they needed to go to the mountains. Kouga was extremely quiet and it bothered Taro a lot. Most pups would ask where they were or if they were there yet even if they had been there before. This bothered Taro a little bit because Kouga should be asking him all kinds of questions. Taro decided to find out what was wrong when they got to where they were going to camp.

It was nearly night fall when they got to their camp site and Kouga put his bag down and sat on the ground like a normal pup would. Taro sat down across from him after he got the fire made. Kouga got up and went in the woods to look for food. Taro watched as Kouga got up and headed into the woods. He had no idea what he was doing but decided to wait to see what the little pup would do.

The sun had sunken down below the horizon when Kouga entered the camp site again. He had with him three rabbits, three pheasants, and three fish. Taro watched as Kouga skinned, plucked, and scaled the fish. He also watch as he cleaned them. He then watched as Kouga took the heads and the entrails over to this flat rock where he placed them for Nina to find. Taro watched as Kouga took the blood on his hands and made a symbol on the side of the rock facing the camp. When Kouga moved and went back over to where they were sitting Taro noticed that Kouga had made the symbol for Nina. He was offering the entrails of the animals to Nina and he was praying for their souls as well by placing the heads there as well.

Taro said, "You know a lot about what to do when hunting don't you Kouga?"

Kouga said, "Yes sir I do. My mother taught me well."

Taro said, "I would assume by how she introduced me to you that she told you who you are?"

Kouga said, "I know she isn't my birth mother but to me she is my mother because she is the one who raised me and I love her and my brother."

Taro smiled and said, "You are a very loyal person Kouga not many would take up a loyalty to an inu youkai and a human."

Kouga looked at Taro and said, "You Kyodai is the one person in this world I trust with my life as is my mother. I trust no one I have learned not to. So you should count yourself lucky that I trust you enough to sleep on the ground when around you instead of in a tree or away from this camp site."

Taro said, "Why are you so dis trusting pup?"

Kouga said, "If you went through everything I have you would not trust anyone either. And before you ask me Oji-san I don't want to talk about it."

Taro said, "That is alright it will take you a while to trust me. I can understand that. I knew it would take you a while to trust me and the others so its alright. Can I ask you something?"

Kouga said, "Fine."

Taro said, "I understand that you went hunting but with the amount of food you brought back I don't understand why you would get three of everything."

Kouga said, "I got three of everything because it isn't just us two here. We have been being followed since we passed the cross roads. Have you not noticed that Oji-san?"

Taro said, "No I noticed but its only a Hebi watching us that is all. You do not need to worry I will not let it hurt you. You are the one they are after because you are a pup and easily killed."

Kouga said, "You would loose your life to protect mine?"

Taro said, "Yes I would as I would your brother and mother as I have almost done for you father."

Kouga said, "Why are you considered my Oji-san anyway?"

Taro said, "Your father Riku was my younger brother. So I am your only living blood relative just as Izayoi and Sesshoumaru are Inuyasha's only living relatives."

Kouga said, "Ok and don't worry about protecting me I can take care of myself and Hebi's don't scare me in the least."

Taro said, "Just because the one you met was nice doesn't mean they are all like that pup. They are vicious monsters."

Kouga and Taro were eating when the Hebi came into the camp and went toward Kouga. Kouga just stood up and turned to the snake demon. He smiled at her and when Taro went to get up Kouga looked at him.

Kouga said, "Stay put Oji-san she won't attack me she is just hungry that is all and she is scared. She has lost her way."

Kouga looked back at the female and said in Hebi, "Stop young one. We pose no harm to you. You are safe I promise you this. We will not attack you. In fact I am a member of a your own kind. Please young one calm down and I will give you some food. I have got more than enough for all three of us. We will help you find your way back to your family I promise."

Taro looked at his nephew for he had just spoken Hebi like it was inu youkai. The young Hebi stopped dead in her tracks and looked at the small pup with her eyes wide. No one had ever spoken to her so nicely.

She said, "Do you mean what you said?"

Kouga said, "Yes I meant it. As long as you do not attack us you are welcome to stay. We will help you find your way back to your home and we will give you food. Just do not attack us."

She looked at the other one and said, "Is what he said true? Will you allow me to stay if I do not attack and then help me get home?"

Taro said, "Yes it is. Where is your home anyway?"

She said, "I live in the village not far from the Eastern Mountain's."

Kouga said, "Elder Kane's village."

She looked at him and said, "You know Elder Kane?"

He said, "Yes I do. I was there not too long ago. My Kyodai and I helped your leader Nanni back home after he got to close to our home. Your Elder gave us medallions to protect us and made us part of you clan as well. So since we are going that way anyway we will help you get home. Come sit."

She went over to Kouga and sat down next to him. He handed her the other three he had caught and then went back to eating himself. Taro went back to eating as well. He kept his eye on the child snake who had taken a liking to his nephew. They were all talking to one another. Kouga had become really quiet and was looking at the sky.

Taro said, "What is wrong Kouga?"

Kouga said, "Nothing Oji-san its just Inuyasha he's afraid."

Taro said, "Why is that?"

Taro was amazed his nephew could know what his brother was feeling and they were not even real twins. It was really cool actually because if that was true then they were supposed to be together for all eternity.

Kouga said, "It's the no moon and he is alone. He is human tonight and I am not there to comfort him neither is mother. He will be alright he has our Oniisan to take care of him. So I am not worried."

Taro said, "You two act like twins even if you are not."

Kouga said, "Yeah we do. I always know what he is feeling and we even know what the other is thinking at times."

Taro said, "That is pretty rare Kouga you know that."

Kouga said, "I know that."

Kouga looked at the female next to him and said, "Why are you so far from home Shimai?"

She smiled and said, "Why did you call me sister?"

Kouga said, "Because you are. If I am part of you clan than that makes you my Shimai. Right Oji-san that is how that works right?"

Taro said, "Yeah that's what it means."

Kouga said, "So why are you so far from home?"

She said, "I was taken out to go hunting but my Oniisan and I got separated. I got lost trying to find my way home."

Kouga said, "You for one were going in the wrong direction for starters. Home is that way."

Kouga pointed toward the Eastern horizon and the female looked toward where he was pointing and then looked at the ground. She had been going in the wrong direction that meant she was going West instead of East. Kouga saw how sad she was and he ran his clawed hand down her hair and she looked at him. He was smiling so she smiled too.

Kouga said, "It was a good try. You got turned around that's all it happened to my Kyodai and I when we were going back home. We didn't even realize it till we saw the sun rise in front of us instead of behind us. All you have to remember Shimai is that the taiyo rises in the East and sets in the West. So as long as the taiyo is coming over the horizon in front of you are going the right way if its going down in front of you then you have to turn around and go the other way."

She smiled and said, "That's easy to remember actually. What else Kyodai?"

Kouga smiled and said in Hebi, "What is your name? Mine is Kouga."

She smiled and said, "My name is Whisper."

Kouga smiled and said, "Ok well lets see."

Kouga thought about what he could teach his new sister. Then he remember what his mother had said about Hebi's they had no way to counter their own poison so if one of them got poisoned by accident by an elder then the one who got poisoned would die because once they get older their poison got stronger. His mother had found the antidote to it. He could show her.


	15. The Meaning of Being a Brother

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company they are the soul creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do however own the plot and other characters._

_A/n: Just for the record I do not condone violence of any kind. That means man, woman, child, or nature. I am a peace-loving person and that is how I will stay._

"_Talking," 'Thinking'. (Me)_

_Chapter Fourteen: The Meaning of Being a Big Brother._

Sesshoumaru had run inside the cave to find his younger brother not in the bed anymore. He wasn't anywhere he could see him. He could smell him but he couldn't find him anywhere. So he decided to see if he would come out of his hiding place for him.

Sesshoumaru said, "Inuyasha where are you? Come on out its all right. I am right here your safe so long as I am here."

Inuyasha could hear the worry laced in his Oniisan's voice. Inuyasha was too terrified to come out of his hiding spot. He knew what people did when they saw him as a human even if they never saw him as a hanyou they were still means to him because they could tell he was one even if he looked human he never could pass as one. He stayed in his hiding spot crying wanting his Kyodai.

Sesshoumaru said, "Inuyasha why are you crying? Why are you afraid? I see nothing to make you scared and I am here now I did not go far. I only went hunting so you were not completely alone. I was withing yelling distance and you could smell my scent. So tell me Ototo why are you scared and crying?"

Inuyasha said, "I am scared because I am alone tonight."

Sesshoumaru said, "You miss Kouga so you are afraid."

Inuyasha said, "Only tonight am I afraid. I can be alone that is no problem just not tonight. I can't tonight."

Then it hit Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha was human tonight and he had left him alone while he changed. He was terrified because his senses were diminished. He was such an idiot and an asshole.

Sesshoumaru said, "I am sorry Ototo I did not know you would be human tonight or I would have stayed until after you had changed. I am so sorry I left you here alone when you are not used to being alone then. Come here you are completely safe I will not allow anyone to harm you I promise."

Inuyasha said, "Not even you?"

Sesshoumaru said, "Why would you think I would hurt you Ototo?"

Inuyasha said, "Everyone but mommy and Kyodai hurt me no matter if I am a half breed or human they still despise me and treat me lower than dirt. So I figured you would too."

Sesshoumaru knelt on the ground and said, "Inuyasha I swear to you on my own life and on Nina that I would never do that to you. I would rather have my beating heart ripped from my chest then to hurt you."

Inuyasha got up and walked over to his brother keeping to the shadows so he would not see him completely. He was still distrusting of him but he was learning to trust others more and more. Once Inuyasha was close enough for Sesshoumaru to reach, he grabbed Inuyasha and pulled him to his unarmored chest and buried his nose in the younger pup's black hair. Inuyasha could see and hear his brother crying. He didn't know what he had done to make him upset but whatever he did it hurt him a lot.

Inuyasha said, "I am sorry Oniisan. I did not mean to do it."

Sesshoumaru looked at him and said, "Why are you sorry?"

Inuyasha said, "I made you cry I am sorry."

Sesshoumaru wiped the tears from his face and said, "You did nothing wrong Inuyasha. I am the one who should be sorry. I left you here alone and I know you were scared. I am so sorry Inuyasha I will never again leave you alone while you are human I swear to Nina I won't."

Inuyasha hugged his brother and wrapped his arms around Sesshoumaru's neck and kissed the stripes on his face. He traced the crescent moon on his forehead. And wondered why he did not have one if they were brothers. He decided to ask Sesshoumaru.

Inuyasha said, "Oniisan can I ask you something?"

Sesshoumaru said, "You can ask me after I go get our dinner from outside ok."

Inuyasha said, "Ok."

Sesshoumaru went outside the cave entrance and around the waterfall to where he had dropped the two rabbits and the two fish on the ground. He picked them up and walked back into the cave but not before looking at the sky. Sesshoumaru noted that there was no moon that night. Sesshoumaru thought '_I will have to remember that Inuyasha is human on the moonless night. That way I do not break my promise to him. I will never again leave my brother alone on these nights. He was terrified of being alone._' Sesshoumaru came into the cave and saw Inuyasha sitting on the ground near the fire.

Sesshoumaru said, "Do you eat everything raw or is it cooked?"

Inuyasha said, "Both actually. Kouga and I only cook the food that we catch when mommy is around other wise. We eat it raw."

Sesshoumaru went over to his brother and handed him the fish and rabbit he had gotten for him. Inuyasha took his dinner and waited until Sesshoumaru was seated and began eating before he started eating. His mother had always said that lords and elders ate first when it came to manners. So since Sesshoumaru was a lord he was to eat first by his mothers rules.

Sesshoumaru noted how his brother waited until he himself had seated and began eating before Inuyasha himself ate. That was one thing he did not have to teach his brother. Manners were something you picked up on or were taught by a woman not the man well in his case his father had taught him because his mother had died during his birth but that wasn't his fault his father had said so.

Sesshoumaru said, "You had a question for me Inuyasha."

Inuyasha swallowed his food and said, "Yeah why is it that you have a crescent moon on your forehead and I do not? Is it because we are not the same?"

Sesshoumaru said, "No little brother. This mark is the mark of our father's house. I am first born heir to the throne as first born I bear father's mark. If such a time should arise and I am no longer here but with father then you will know before anyone."

Inuyasha interrupted, "How will I know that and why would you be with father?"

Sesshoumaru said, "You would know if I am no longer here because this mark little brother will show up on your forehead in the same place it is on mine. I would be with father if I died Inuyasha that is my place as it is yours and mothers."

Inuyasha said, "How about Kouga will he go with father?"

Sesshoumaru said, "Yes he will go to the same place but with his own family Ototo. He will still be with you though as will I and as will mother when it is her time. As is father now."

Inuyasha said, "When I woke up I smelled your scent and someone else's scent. Who else has been here with you besides me brother?"

Sesshoumaru smiled and said, "The scent you smelled was our father's scent. This is the last place father was before you were born. We came here for father son vacation. We did that every summer as I will do with you to teach you things. So when summer begins you are to come here all right. You can stay at home during the night if you want to and come here during the day or you can stay here with me all night either way is fine. Father liked it here because it was close to mother."

Inuyasha said, "Brother why do you call my mom your mom if she is your step mother?"

Sesshoumaru said, "I call her mom for the same reason Kouga does. She is the only one we know and the only one we had. His mother died after he was born as your mother has told you. Mine did while giving me life so I never knew my mother at all. I lover her though as I love your mother as I love you and Kouga and father."

Inuyasha said, "That's sad brother. I am sorry you never got to know your mommy."

Sesshoumaru said, "And I am sorry you never got to know our father but I will do all I can to help you learn everything he taught me. Now lets eat."

Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru ate their dinner and then Sesshoumaru went into another section of the cave while Inuyasha got cleaned up. He wasn't the cleanest person in the world when it came to eating. Sesshoumaru had asked him to go get cleaned up in the small lake that the waterfall emptied into then come back in without his cloths on so he could get dried before he put them back on. Inuyasha didn't like the idea of doing it but his brother had insisted on it. So he was going to do what he was told even if it meant he was completely uncomfortable. So when his bath was over he went back inside without his clothes on. Sesshoumaru was waiting near the fire with a towel to help dry him off. Inuyasha went over to him and reached for the towel but was only grabbed and dried off by his brother. Inuyasha instinctively tensed up and Sesshoumaru stopped he had a hold of the towel and had just wrapped hit around his waist when all of Inuyasha's muscles tensed up for no apparent reason.

Sesshoumaru said, "What's wrong Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha said, "Nothing Sesshoumaru I am just not used to having people do that to me that's all."

But in reality it had to do with the men who had attacked them just yesterday. Even if he had been completely unconscious the whole time it was still in his memory from when Kouga had told their mother what had happened. They had shared memories of what had happened and Inuyasha could feel and see what was going on around them. Sesshoumaru knew something else was bothering his Ototo but he would not say anything as of yet. He was going to let Inuyasha tell him when he felt like it.

Sesshoumaru said, "If there is anything you want to tell me about then you can all right. I will always be around to listen ok."

Inuyasha said, "Thank you Sesshoumaru."

After Inuyasha was dried and dressed they both got into bed to sleep since it was late into the night. Both brothers lay on the bed to get some sleep. Inuyasha laid facing the cave wall trying hard not to let his fear show or let it be smelled by his brother. He had only slept with one other person and that was Kouga. He was always sleeping with Kouga or alone so it was hard for him to go to sleep next to his older brother.

Sesshoumaru said, "Inuyasha are you uncomfortable with me sleeping next to you?"

Inuyasha said, "No Sesshoumaru. Well kind of. But its ok really Sesshoumaru."

With that Inuyasha turned around to face his brother and saw that Sesshoumaru had gotten up and was standing near the cave entrance. He was no longer next to him. Sesshoumaru looked so majestic standing there in the doorway. Inuyasha got up and went over to him. He got right behind him and put his arms around his waist. Inuyasha hugged his brother tightly from behind. Sesshoumaru pushed him away.

Sesshoumaru said, "Go to bed Inuyasha I will be back later."

With that Sesshoumaru left Inuyasha alone in the cave for the second time that night. Inuyasha sat on the ground where he had fallen after his brother had shoved him and watched as his brother ran off into the forest. Inuyasha didn't understand why his brother had been so mean to him when he had promised to not hurt him. Inuyasha had decided it was only an accident and that his brother would never actually hurt him. (_For shadowing of things to come... I am so evil I know._) Inuyasha got up and went back to the bed. He laid there for a while then went to sleep. When he woke up he felt Sesshoumaru curled up behind of him. He realized Sesshoumaru had come back. He went to roll over to burry his face in Sesshoumaru's chest like he did with Kouga only to be lightly smacked and growled at. He knew from the growl that Sesshoumaru was still sleeping so he didn't move. It was a reprimand he knew that so he laid perfectly still until Sesshoumaru let go. They were laying there until almost noon when Sesshoumaru woke up and saw Inuyasha still laying next to him. Sesshoumaru was curious as to why his little brother was still lying next to him if it was uncomfortable to him.

Sesshoumaru said, "Inuyasha why are you still lying here with me? I thought you didn't like to sleep with me."

Inuyasha said. "Its not that I don't like it Sesshoumaru its just that other than Kouga I have never slept with anyone before. So it was different that's all. You didn't have to leave you could have stayed here."

Sesshoumaru said, "That is only the second half to my sentence. You didn't answer my question at all."

Inuyasha said, "You growled and lightly hit me for moving so I stayed still because you reprimanded me and if I moved again then you would get mad at me. So I just stayed still so you could get some sleep."

Sesshoumaru said, "How long have we been sleeping do you know?"

Inuyasha said, "I think its almost midday. I can't be sure."

Sesshoumaru said, "Alright lets go get cleaned up. Then we will eat some breakfast, then we will make our on journey."

Both boys got up and headed for the lake to take a bath and then head out.


	16. Passing on Knowledge

_Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and company they are the soul creation of Rumiko Takahashi. I do however own the plot and other characters._

_A/n: Just for the record I do not condone violence of any kind. That means man, woman, child, or nature. I am a peace-loving person and that is how I will stay._

"_Talking," 'Thinking'. (Me)_

_Chapter Fifteen: Passing on Knowledge_

Kouga decided that since he knew the antidote to the Hebi poison and she did not and she

was a Hebi so he was going to show her how to counter it. Kouga smiled at himself for being so nice and so smart. Kouga turned to his shimai and smiled at her.

Kouga said, "You really want to learn what I know?"

Whisper said, "Yeah I do. Will you teach me Kyodai?"

Kouga said, "Yeah I will teach you Whisper. What is you want to learn first?"

Taro was watching Kouga very closely. He was interested in what his nephew knew and how he could teach the Hebi next to him. So Taro watched Kouga from his side of the fire while he taught the girl all he knew.

Whisper said, "What can I learn Kouga?"

Kouga said, "Well lets see what you know first then we'll see what I can improve on and what else I can teach you."

Whisper said, "Well I know how to track and hunt. I can do our magic when needed. I can also some weapons but not all of the ones we use. I am pretty good with a bow and arrow but nothing else. That's about it actually. I am still in training so I do not know a lot of things yet."

Kouga said, "That's ok. Well lets see I can teach you any language I know. I can teach you some healer things. I know one thing I am going to teach you and you need to know it by heart ok. This I am doing as a need be for your kind. My mother is a world renowned healer and she has come up with the antidote for your kind's poison since Hebi's do not know how to counter their own poison I will show you out of kindness and necessity. I can also teach you how to use a sword if you like. So what do you want to learn first?"

Taro said, "Do you think you can teach her all that before we get back to her home?"

Kouga said, "Yeah I know I can. I learned everything I know in just a short while."

Whisper said, "What languages can you teach me?"

Kouga smiled and said, "Well I can teach you some Inu, fluent Kumo, Kitsune, Watashi, Ryu, and Uma."

Whisper said, "Can you teach me how to speak Kitsune?"

Kouga said, "Yeah no problem. Well lets begin shall we."

Kouga laughed and so did Whisper as well as Taro because it was what all teachers said when they wanted to start something. So for the first part of their training lesson Whisper was taught Kitsune until she knew it fluently. Not a single thing was wrong with the way she spoke.

Kouga said, "Ok now that you have that down what else do you want to learn?"

Whisper said, "Can you teach me to use a sword now?"

Kouga said, "Yeah just let me get something then we will start."

Kouga arrived with two sticks that would make perfect practice swords. By the time they were done they knew exactly what they needed to know to use a sword. He then taught her how to counter her kinds poison and the other languages he knew. Taro was surprised to find that his little nephew knew so much and knew that no matter what he would probably stop off in the Hebi's village when he was done just to teach Whisper everything else he knew. The inu youkai for sure. He knew that no matter what his nephew knew what he was doing. This was something that no one ever wanted to happen.

Whisper said, "Do you know anything else?"

Kouga smiled and said, "The only thing else I know I don't think that you would be interested in."

Whisper said, "What is it?"

Kouga said, "I was taught the religions of other cultures other than just mine and my mother's religions the same as my Kyodai. We were taught so we could help our mother with her healer duties."

Whisper said, "That sounds like fun."

Kouga said, "Alright I can show you."

Whisper smiled and she was really a very willing student. It was fun to teach someone things and Kouga was enjoying having someone willing to learn. He was actually having fun teaching her everything he knew. So he took a stick and started by drawing a crescent moon and a star inside it.

Kouga said, "This symbol is the inu and Ookami's goddesses symbol. The crescent moon is light blue and the star is usually bright yellow and it stands for the Goddess Nina."

Whisper said, "Ok so Crescent moon with a star is for Nina."

Kouga said, "Right. Now this symbol is for the Goddess Ren she is the water demon's deity."

Kouga erased the symbol for Nina and drew an eye in the dirt.

Kouga said, "The eye is actually red."

Whisper said, "Red eye means Ren. Ok."

Kouga erased the symbol for Ren and drew a circle split with a wavy line with a small circle in the top of the left side and another small circle in the bottom of the right side.

Kouga said, "The left side is normally black with the circle being white. The other side is normally white with the circle being black. This symbol is for the Bird demon's God Kado. It is also the symbol for good and evil. The white side is for good and the black side is for evil mostly. You can't have good without evil and you can't have evil without good that's what the small circles mean."

Whisper said, "Alright what else."

Kouga erased the Ying Yang symbol and drew a kitsune with a rose in his hand.

Kouga said, "This is the god himself. This God is for the Kitsune and Rabbit demons. His name is Youko Kurama. He is a silver Kitsune who is the last of his kind. He is a spirt fox of at least 1000 years but if he appears to you then he looks 15. He has silver hair, hazel/gold eyes. Those blessed by him can use Rose Whip, Rose whip lash or Thorn wheel. And the Death plant. He is feared by even the demons in Hell. It is said he lost his best friend Kuronue. Who was a bat demon. It is said that Kuronue was 532 when he died he had black hair and indigo eyes. He always wore a pendent and its said when he died he lost the pendent and went back for it and Youko went after him and was told to leave by Kuronue and he died. It is said that you can hear Kuronue where ever there is an alter for Youko Kurama telling him and I quote, 'Forget about me, save yourself, Kurama!' But that is a old wise tale there haven't been actual accounts of it."

Whisper said, "Have you ever heard him?"

Kouga said, "I've never been near one so I wouldn't know."

Kouga erased Youko's picture from the dirt and drew a spider mark on the ground.

Kouga said, "This symbol is for the Bat and Spider demons. It is for their Goddess Takara. Its usually purple and looks like a burn."

Whisper said, "Purple spider mark Takara."

Kouga erased the spider mark and drew the Egyptian eye on the ground.

He said, "You should know that one its for your own God Yasashiku. Your God is also the Dragon's God and any other reptile demons around."

Whisper said, "Yeah I know that one."

Kouga erased the Egyptian eye and drew a pentagram with a bold of light threw the center.

Kouga said, "A circle with a star in the center and a bolt of light threw the center is the symbol for the God Kisho. He is the Kumo Youkai's God."

Whisper said, "Ok."

Kouga erased the Kisho's symbol and threw the stick into the fire.

Kouga said, "I can't draw the other one. The Neko's Goddess is Leiko. Her symbol is a Pegasus. Which is a Uma with bird wings. That's everything I know actually. I have nothing left to teach you."

Whisper said, "That is cool. I could learn from my brother too."

Whisper went to sleep after a while and Kouga stayed up and watched the stars in the sky. Taro knew his nephew needed to sleep or nothing was going to get done the next morning.

Taro said, "You should get some sleep Kouga. We have a lot of things to due tomorrow."

Kouga said, "I am fine uncle. I know what I am doing. I told you before I do not trust people and I still don't trust you."

Taro said, "You trust Whisper a lot more than you do me. Why is that?"

Kouga said, "I don't want to talk about it. I do not trust males alright. Whisper is a female. I only trust my Kyodai and that is all. So do not expect me to trust you at all."

Taro said. "Why do you not trust males but females? What happened to you that made you distrust males so much?"

Kouga said, "I don't want to talk about it. I will trust you to some point but not completely. Just go to sleep Uncle Taro. I will get some sleep later after I feel safe to do so."

Taro sighed and went to sleep. Kouga stayed awake for a while longer before he went to sleep with his back to Whisper. The whole camp site was quiet except for the soft snores of the sleepers.


	17. Author's note

1This is to all my adoring fansI am putting all my fan fictions on standby at the moment. I don't have the spare time I did before to post them. I am sorry to all who love to read my fan fictions.

I know I owe you all an explanation so here it is. I just had my first child a little girl and I am trying to get a schedule down with her. The reason I am writing this is because she is currently asleep but it won't last long. So as soon as I can I will post some more stuff. I am sorry to those who are anxiously waiting for me to update.

Thank you for your support and for listening to me. I really enjoy reading all your feedback and I will try to update my stories as soon as I can.

-Silver Wolf Pups


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